Dance Party
by luffy fan
Summary: Fairy Tail throws a dance party and Lucy finds herself without a partner. A fellow guild member that has been cruel to her in the past comes to her rescue. Contains a lemon. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

"Oh yeah. I got the moves like Jagger!" Natsu wiggled his hips, dropped to his knees and popped back up quickly.

Lucy rolled her eyes but couldn't completely suppress a grin. Natsu was goofing off, which was to be expected. Tonight was the Fairy Tail Dance Party and Natsu had a gleam in his eye that promised mayhem and mischief. Everyone stood in the banquet hall waiting for the opening announcements.

The lights dimmed and crowd became silent. An unseen drum began to beat. The guild members smiled at each other and started clapping to the rhythm. The music sped up and everyone stomped their feet. The frantic beat turned into a drum roll and a spotlight lit the stage. The crowd cheered and when the noise had reached its crescendo, a small figure in a top hat and cape stepped appeared on stage. He lifted his hat and brought it across his waist, bowing to the audience. After a dramatic pause, he rose and motioned for the crowd to become silent.

Lucy appreciated the show. Makarov was hamming it up tonight. She nudged Natsu. "Is he always like this?"

Natsu nodded as he looked up at the guild master like a hopeful puppy waiting for a bone.

Makarov raised a hand and looked at it theatrically as if he were about to start conducting an orchestra. "We are gathered here today, to celebrate among friends!" He thrust his hand up and the crowd went wild. He paused, waiting for the noise to die down. "I hope each of you has a great time tonight. Don't forget, we are the number one guild in both strength and camaraderie!" There was more cheering and applause as Makarov made his way off the stage to join in the celebration.

_Short and sweet_, thought Lucy.

The master was almost off the stage when he spun back around. "Oh, and my dance card is open if any of the young ladies need a partner tonight."

Laughter broke out_. Oh, he just had to remind us that he's a perverted old man, didn't he_, thought Lucy. She shook her head at the little man who appeared so innocent but somehow managed to keep over a hundred delinquent mages in line.

A pop song started playing and she turned around to see if Natsu wanted to dance but he had disappeared. _That's weird_, she thought. She scanned the room. Couples were already pairing off. Gajeel was shuffling from side to side with Levy. Juvia had snagged a less than willing Grey. Even Erza and Jellal were letting loose. Finally, her eyes landed on a couple in the corner of the banquet hall; Natsu and Lisanna. The pretty girl with hair the color of ash had her arms draped around the dragon slayer's neck and was whispering something in his ear. Natsu was blushing and running his hands through his hair nervously. Lucy looked away, embarrassed to be watching the intimate exchange.

_Great, I'm practically the only person who isn't dancing_. Lucy made her way over to the punch. Cana was sitting next to it so it was most likely spiked.

"Hey, how's it going?"

Cana looked up at the celestial wizard with a sullen expression. "What, no one will dance with you either?"

Lucy's smile faltered a little. "Well, not yet. But it's only the first song." She tried to keep her voice cheerful. Cana grumbled something and peered into the bottom of her cup, as if she were surprised to see it.

"Hey ladies."

Lucy and Cana turned around to see Bickslow looking them over with a maniacal smile. Lucy winced. Bickslow wasn't wearing his face armor so his Mohawk and face tattoo were clearly visible. He wouldn't be her first choice for a dance partner, but Lucy decided she couldn't really afford to be picky if she wanted to get any dancing in.

"Hey yourself," snorted Cana. The heavy drinker could really lay on the charm when she wanted.

Bickslow grinned at her. "Would you like to dance?" He held out his hand to her, and bowed slightly.

Cana and Lucy blinked. "Ah, sure." Cana accepted the hand hesitantly, as she glanced back at her friend. Lucy smiled and waved her hand at the couple, letting them know she was fine. Once they were gone, she felt herself start to panic.

_Why isn't anyone asking me to dance? I'm cute, right? Cancer took care of my hair. That can't be it. This new outfit rocks, even though it made me nervous about making my rent. What's the deal?_

She looked over at Natsu and Lisanna. Lisanna was dancing beautifully. She had obvious talent and wasn't afraid to show it. Natsu was opting for a more freestyle approach that appeared to be a mix of break dancing and karate. Every once in awhile he would lose control and accidentally kick Lisanna in the shins. She seemed to handle the abuse well but Lucy noticed that frown lines were beginning to form.

Lucy tapped her foot and bobbed her head to the music, trying to look like she was enjoying herself. A pit of worry was starting to build in her stomach

She jumped when a low voice spokein her ear. "Care to dance?

**Thank you so much to randigirl for beta-reading this chapter. Please read and review.**


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy jerked around and winced. The one and only Laxus Dreyer was looming over her and so close that she could see the tiny upturn at the corner of his mouthShe took a step back instinctively.

"Uh, sure," she muttered and immediately regretted it. Laxus had a near psychotic break last year and attacked almost everyone in the guild, including her. He took her hand and led her onto the dance floor before she could think up an escape plan.

Fortunately for her, the band was playing an upbeat pop song so there was no threat of being made to slow dance. She started to bounce to the music, keeping a solid two feet between them. Laxus was nearly a foot and a half taller than her and he looked awkward moving to the music. He was trying to keep up with Lucy but the way they were dancing wasn't exactly easy for his lumbering frame. She fought back a grin. The dragon slayer noticed and smiled sheepishly.

"I guess I'm not the best dancer, huh?"

"No, you're doing great," she encouraged. She spun around, getting more into the song. Laxus took her hand and spun her around again. He pulled her close for a moment, and then released her.

The song ended and the band began playing a song that sounded like a Mexican hat dance. Most of the couples stopped dancing and started making there(their) way back to the bar or dining tables.

Lucy relaxed. She opened her mouth to thank Laxus but he suddenly wrapped his arms underneath hers and lifted so that she was standing on tip-toe. The fast movement made her slightly breathless.

"What are you doing?"

Light was glinting in Laxus's eyes. "Now this is something I can dance to."

He started across the dance floor in long fast steps. His stride was much longer than her's and Lucy would have fallen if Laxus hadn't already been supporting most of her weight. The celestial wizard's feet were only skimming the floor every other step. Laxus would glide to one end of the room and spin quickly, making her hair whip out. Her stomach did a small flip and she realized that he had dipped her so deeply that her locks where brushing the floor. He pulled her up and led her through another circle around the room.

Lucy felt like she was flying. She had to trust Laxus to support her completely, and was shocked when she realized that she didn't really mind. It was exhilarating. She started laughing and tried harder to keep up with Laxus but it was impossible. He was like a puppeteer pulling her strings.

The song ended and the dragon slayer let her down. The sudden weight of her body surprised her and she swayed slightly. She looked around the room and saw every pair of eyes on them. Levy gave her a "thumbs" up and Cana and Bickslow were clapping.

Lucy blushed. "Thanks Laxus. That was a lot of fun. I didn't know you could dance like that."

Laxus shrugged. "Its one of the few dances I actually know. But you've got to have a great partner to really get it right."

A slow song started and Lucy and Laxus made their way off the dance floor. When they got to the punch bowl, Gray, Natsu, and Lisanna rushed up to them.

"Oh man, that looked like _sooo_ much fun," exclaimed Natsu. "Lucy, we have to dance like that if they play that song again."

"Sure, but I doubt they'll play the same song twice." She gulped down some of the punch and nearly gagged. Yep, it was heavily spiked_._

Lisanna chimed in. "You looked really pretty too. Your hair and skirt were flowing around you. It was really dramatic."

"Thanks Lisanna. I saw you dancing earlier. You were really good also."

Lisanna rolled her eyes. "Thanks, but I think Natsu and I might have been dramatic in a less flattering way."

"Can I get the next dance?" asked Gray. He had been nudging himself closer to Lucy while the group talked.

"Yeah, but I think I need a little breather first. That was a heck of a workout." She looked up at Laxus. Her former dance partner was sipping some of the punch and looked bored. He turned his gaze back to Lucy.

"Lucy, can I talk to you for a minute?" His voice was easy enough but the words made her tense.

"Okay, I guess.

"Let's go out on the balcony."

_That's strange,_ thought Lucy. Laxus wasn't really acting like himself tonight. And why did he want to talk to _her_ of all people.

**Luffy fan: Special thanks to randigirl, my beta-reader! Please read and review.**


	3. Chapter 3

Outside, the night air was cool and Lucy rubbed her bare arms. "I should have brought a jacket," she mumbled.

"Sorry, I'd offer you mine if I had one."

Lucy looked up at him and suddenly became nervous. There was no noise, not even the sound of trees rustling in the wind. The silence reminded her that they were completely alone. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" She tried to keep her voice light but there was an edge of tension to it.

"I just wanted to apologize about the way I treated you last year."

Her shoulders relaxed. "Sure. Apology accepted."

"Just like that? Apology accepted?"

"Yeah. I mean, we are all in the same guild. It's sort of like a big family and family looks out for each other. We forgive each others' mistakes and move on."

Laxus looked at her doubtfully. "That's pretty big of you." He paused. "Still, I sometimes get the feeling that you're scared of me."

It was Lucy's turn to pause. It was true, she was scared of him. She decided to be honest. "Well, you're still a pretty scary guy. But sometimes we need scary guys." She shrugged. "I don't really know you that well but Natsu likes you. Just give me some time to get to know you better."

Laxus regarded her for a minute and then nodded.

"Is that it?" she asked. "Can we go back inside now? I'm starting to get cold."

"One more thing." He leaned down and lifted her chin towards him, brushing her lips softly against his own. The kiss was quick and over before Lucy could even react.

"Why did you do that?"

"I just wanted to see what it was like."

Lucy was speechless. She turned and walked back inside.

Back in the banquet room, techno music was playing. _They're__ playing every__ genre__ of music out there_, Lucy thought. Couples had paired off again and were dancing together sensually. Gray came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Ready for that dance?"

"Huh? Oh okay." She was distracted, still thinking about the kiss she had shared with _Laxus_ only minutes before out on the balcony. She turned around and noticed that Gray was bare-chested.

"Gray, where are your clothes?"

He glanced down. "It's a dance party. No shirt but I still get service."

"That was lame," she said.

He grinned.

They joined the crowded dance floor and were practically forced against each other. Everyone had congregated in the middle and people were bouncing up and down to the beat. Lucy and Gray joined in, lifting their arms in the air. People were shouting and hollering above the bass. Gray tried to say something but Lucy couldn't hear him.

"What?" She shouted and barely heard her own voice.

Gray lowered his arms and brought her flush against his chest to speak in her ear. "I SAID, WHAT DID LAXUS WANT TO TALK ABOUT?" She shivered as his lips brushed her ear. She turned her head and spoke like he had.

"HE JUST WANTED TO APOLOGIZE FOR LAST YEAR." She enunciated each syllable in an effort to be heard.

She could feel Gray nod but he didn't move away from her. He slid his hands across her back and pressed his knee between her thighs. They were grinding to the music. It was closer than Lucy was comfortable with but it was how everyone else dancing. She decided that she wouldn't push away but she would keep her own movements to a minimum.

Lucy felt something brush against her backside and jumped. It was probably another dancer bumping against her but sure wasn't sure. Gray's face was now buried against the crook of her neck and she couldn't see what was happening around her. The ice mage started to rub his cheek and lips across her skin and Lucy closed her eyes, exhaling softly.

Gray couldn't have heard her above the music but he seemed to know that he had gotten a reaction from her. He pulled her closer so that only the thin material of her blouse separated their two torsos. She could feel the sculpted ridges of his abs and fought the urge to run her fingers along them. Instead, she pressed against his shoulder, trying to pry him away. She only succeeded in getting a few inches between them but it was enough to help her start thinking clearly.

She spoke into his ear. "This is getting a little… _intense_. Maybe we should take a break."

He pouted. "Aw, come on. At least finish the song."

Gray pulled her closer but the final notes of the song played out and the dance ended, saving her from further argument. Lucy promptly removed herself from Gray and made her way to the bar. He tried to follow her but other couples were breaking up and she was easily lost in the sea of bodies. She hoped Juvia hadn't seen them. It was just a dance but the water mage wouldn't see it that way.

She felt a hand close around her wrist and she jolted. _Oh no_, she thought. _Juvia has __already__ come to lay down great wrath and furious vengeance_. She looked back and was relieved to find Laxus behind her.

"Oh good, it's only you." She found it strange that she was relieved to see a man who had once taken her hostage.

"What do you mean, _it's only me_?" Laxus's brows furrowed and he stood straighter. Lucy was suddenly aware of the height difference between them. It made her feel small and her pulse sped up. She wondered if she would have been better off trying to survive Juvia's water prison.

"What's got you in such a bad mood?" She yanked her hand back and rubbed her wrist. She didn't want Laxus to see that she was afraid of him.

Laxus's face went blank and he crossed his hands over his chest. "Nothing."

"Seriously? Because it kind of felt like you crushed my wrist."

Laxus frowned and looked away. "Sorry," he mumbled.

_That's two apologies in one day_, Lucy thought. _Maybe he should just stop __hurting people. _She thought it, but she sure as hell wasn't going to say it out loud. She decided to let it go.

"It's okay," she grumbled. "Why were you trying to get my attention?"

Laxus opened his mouth to speak but Natsu came running up to them and flung himself at Lucy.

"Luce, you gotta help me! Lisanna keeps talking about marrying me."

"Natsu, calm down. She's just teasing you. If you stop giving her such a wild reaction, she'll quit bothering you."

Natsu gave Lucy a doubtful look. "You really think she'll stop?"

"Yes." Lucy put her hands on her hips and stared at him to let him know she was serious.

Natsu pulled on her arm. "Well, just in case, let's dance to the next song."


	4. Chapter 4

The next song was a slow one but Lucy didn't mind. There was no one else in the world who she felt more comfortable with than Natsu. He put his hands around her waist and she leaned against his chest. She inhaled deeply and blew out her breath. There was the faint smell of burning wood. Lucy found it comforting. It reminded her of the nights they had spent camping while out on guild missions.

"What's up?" he asked. "You seem tense."

She looked up at him. "Is it that obvious?"

He shrugged. "To me it is."

She put her head back against his shoulder. They swayed back and forth. "It's nothing really. Laxus was angry at me just now and I'm not sure why. There is something wrong with that guy."

Natsu stopped moving. His fingers dug a little into her back. "What did he do?"

She shook her head. "Nothing really. He grabbed my wrist and it scared me but it didn't hurt that bad. Actually, he was nice earlier. He even apologized about attacking the guild last year."

Natsu relaxed and they started to dance again. "Yeah, he's a good guy deep down."

"If you believe that, why did you react like he did something bad?"

Natsu put his chin on top of her head and rubbed it back and forth. "It's nothing. I'm just checking up on my favorite celestial wizard."

The song ended and Lucy leaned up and kissed Natsu on the cheek. "Thanks for the dance." She brushed her hair from her forehead. She was sweating. The ballroom was getting hot. "I'm going to go outside and get some fresh air." She touched Natsu's arm lightly and headed back out to the balcony.

She walked over to the railing and leaned over. The soft breeze felt good. She could still hear music playing inside. She heard a footstep behind her and started to turn but a strong hand wrapped itself around her mouth. Hot breath that reeked of liquor spoke in her ear.

"Hey little girl, what are you doing out here all alone?"

Lucy panicked and reached for her keys but another hand knocked them away. She heard them clatter as they hit the stone floor.

"Na uh ah," the voice teased.

She tried to turn around to see who her attacker was but he was pressed too closely against her back. She screamed into the hand but the other guild members couldn't have heard the muffled sound above the music.

Another arm wrapped around her waist and she felt the body behind her tense. The unknown man jumped and suddenly her feet were dangling over the edge of the balcony. He was balancing on the thin rail. Lucy looked down. They were two stories up. If he dropped her, she would be seriously hurt.

She tried to scream again but the hand was still pressed against her mouth. The man jerked her body up and shifted her so that she was cradled in his arms. Lucy saw her assailant now.

"Bacchus," she whispered. He had released her mouth when he had shifted her in his arms.

The S-Class mage smiled at her and jumped off the balcony. Lucy screamed and braced herself for the impact back Bacchus hit the ground smoothly.

"What are you doing?" she yelled up at him. She struggled against him but he held her tight against his chest. He started running.

"Help! Somebody help me." Bacchus's hand clamped back over her mouth.

He ran down the cobbled pathway. Lucy looked around frantically but no one was out this late. Bacchus peeled off to the left and kicked a door open. It appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. As soon as they were through the entrance, he dropped her flat on her back.

Lucy hit the ground hard and the wind rushed out of her lungs. She tried to suck in a breath and choked. Tears welled up in her eyes. She had never had the wind knocked out of her lungs before and the sensation terrified her. She clawed at the air above her and saw Bacchus looking down at her.

"Try to relax and take small breaths."

At a loss for anything else to do, she listened to him and forced her body to relax. Almost immediately she found that she could breathe again. Her burning lungs welcomed the fresh oxygen and she tried to sit up, gasping. When she had finally caught her breath, she turned on him.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Bacchus knelt down beside her and ran his hand across her tear-streaked face. "Your mascara is running." He sounded amused. "I like it. It makes you look… damaged." He smiled lecherously.

Lucy jerked back and slapped him across the face, hard. Bacchus let his face stay to the side a moment, then slid his eyes to meet Lucy's. She gasped. His face was filled with an ugly rage. She shuffled back, trying to get away but he grabbed her calf.

"What, what are you doing?" Lucy fought to keep the tremble out of her voice.

Bacchus smiled and some of the violence left his gaze. "I'm just trying to set up a new wager. It should be fun, relax."

"A wager? With who?"

"Laxus. I saw you two out on balcony earlier. _Very_ nice, by the way." He lowered his voice to let her know just how much he had enjoyed watching.

Lucy blinked at him. "Laxus? I barely know him. If you have some beef with him, why don't you just take it up with him directly?"

Bacchus leaned in so that his face was almost touching hers. "Now where's the fun in that? Every great contest deserves a trophy." He pressed his face against the side of her head and inhaled through her hair.

"Ick." She swatted at him. "You have got to be the world's biggest pervert."

Bacchus's eyes lowered down to her voluptuous chest and Lucy crossed her arms, trying to block his view. He kept his eyes focused on her. "Fairy Tail is a pathetic guild, but they do have a lot good looking women."

"What even makes you think he's going to come here? He probably didn't even notice I was missing." She turned away from him and spoke more softly. "Besides, I think he's mad at me."

As if on cue, the door behind them opened.


	5. Chapter 5

Bacchus and Lucy looked up. Laxus was standing in the entrance glaring down at them.

"Woo ho hoo, my spirit's all a flutter," laughed Bacchus. He stayed on the ground and reached for the wine jug at his hip. He tilted his head back and took several large gulps, then slammed the jug down and belched. He looked up at Laxus with a bleary expression on his face.

"I see you made it." Bacchus put his arm around Lucy and pulled her closer. "I was just getting to know your woman."

Laxus's eyes narrowed. "What's up Bacchus? You got a death wish or something?"

"Ooooh, a threat. _Nice_." Bacchus ran his hand along Lucy's thigh. She smacked his hand away and he laughed.

_This guy is insane_, she thought. _He's actually picking a fight with Laxus_.

Bacchus resumed stroking Lucy's thigh and looked up at Laxus. "You've been taking a lot of my S-Ranked missions lately. Business has been good these past seven years and I don't like you messing things up for me. I thought we could settle things with a little wager." He looked over at Lucy and winked. "If I win, I get your girl for night."

Laxusclenched his jaw. "No deal. This is stupid."

Bacchus cocked an eyebrow. "Ah, so you're scared?"

Lucy straightened her skirt and pushed Bacchus's roaming hands away. "He's not scared. He just doesn't want to do your stupid bet."

Bacchus gripped her tighter and his tongue darted out to lick her cheek. "It's not stupid. I bet you'd even like it. Once you go Bacchus, you never go backus." He laughed at his own joke. "I've made a lot of money completing dangerous missions. I could treat you _real_ nice."

"Not interested." Lucy shivered and wiped her cheek with disgust.

Laxus took a step towards them and Bacchus's hand hit the ground hard. His body lifted into a tight roll and he was standing on his feet instantly. He crouched down and took on a martial arts stance. Lucy gaped at him. She had known he was a skilled fighter, on par with Erza, but it still surprised her to see the sudden movement. She started to crawl to the far end of the warehouse. Something told her all hell was about to break loss.

"So," Bacchus continued, swaying on his feet slightly. "I've got one night with the cheerleader. What do you want?"

Laxus took his headphones off and tossed them to the floor. A cruel smile was beginning to form. "Well, the joy of kicking your ass will be reward enough. But while we're at it, why don't you agree to pay Lucy's rent for the rest of the year?"

Lucy's ears perked up. _Interesting_, she thought. _He's trying to help me out with rent but…._

She raised her hand timidly. "Um, excuse me. Don't I have any say? As much as I would appreciate my rent being paid, I don't think it's quite worth the risk."

Laxus gave her a questioning look. "You don't think I'm going to lose, do you?"

Lucy was about to respond but Bacchus took Laxus's momentary lack on concentration and rushed forward, landing three quick palm blows to his gut. The last blow had more force behind it and sent Laxus flying backwards.

Lucy's eyes widened and she gripped her hair. "Oh no, crap, crap, crap!" Thoughts of Bacchus slithering over her body ran wild through her mind.

Laxus stood up, brushing off some rubble that had fallen from the wall he hit. His eyes were glinting. "Not bad. For a rookie."

_What the hell?_ Lucy thought. _He's enjoying this_?

Bacchus rushed towards him again. Laxus side-stepped him and caught him by the throat. He slammed him against the ground. Dust settled and Lucy saw flashes of electrical current running down Laxus's arm, into Bacchus. The palm magic user was convulsing on the ground.

Lucy inched forward to see if the fight was over but Bacchus's hand shot up and hit Laxus directly in the face. His lip split and blood gushed but the lightning mage didn't let go of his opponent's neck. He grinned wickedly and his eyes clouded over. The pupils had vanished and nothing but the whites of his eyes was visible. Lucy huddled further against the wall. Laxus opened his mouth and a blast of lightening energy engulfed Bacchus. She could hear screaming but couldn't see what was happening.

When the light from the blast had faded, she saw Bacchus lying in a heap on the ground. His traditional warrior bun had come undone and his hair was singed. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be unconscious. A stray electrical current ran along his leg and he twitched.

"Damn," whispered Lucy.

Laxus looked up at her. She caught a quick glimpse of his solid white eyes before he blinked and his orange pupils reemerged. He lifted his hand and rubbed at his chin absently. The gesture left a smear of blood across his jaw.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked. She stayed where she was, not sure if she should move yet.

"Yeah." Laxus rolled his head from side to side, cracking his thick neck. "This guy's a dick. I've wanted to pound his face for awhile now."

Lucy stood up and dusted herself off. "Well, you've done a good job of that." She walked closer towards him, so that she could touch his face. "You're bleeding. You should let me take care of your split lip."

Laxus had been staring down at the now crispy Bacchus but he looked at her when she touched him. His gaze was intense. It made her swallow hard. He reached down and brushed a thumb across her cheek. "Are _you_ okay? Did he do anything else to you? You look like you've been crying."

Lucy wiped at her face with the back of her hands, embarrassed. Her mascara had run earlier when she had the wind knocked out of her. She must have looked like a hot mess.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired."

Laxus held out his arm to her. "Then let me take you home."


	6. Chapter 6

Lucy and Laxus were silent for most of the trip back to Lucy's apartment. The celestial mage was exhausted and leaned against Laxus's arm for support. He didn't complain and Lucy was grateful for the crutch he provided.

She opened her apartment door and went to throw her keys in their usual basket.

"My keys!" she exclaimed. "We have to go back."

Laxus was still standing outside her door. He reached into his pocket and showed her the contents.

"Thank god," she sighed and hugged him. She released him and laughed. "What are you still doing outside? Come in. Let's get you fixed up." She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. Laxus looked around the small apartment before taking a seat on the couch.

"I think I have a first aid kit in the bathroom, I'll be right back." Lucy left the room.

Once the bathroom door was closed, she rummaged around the drawers and found the medical kit. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was filthy. The eye makeup had run down her cheeks in small rivers. Her attempts to wipe the mascara away had only succeeded in spreading it further. She peered closer. Damn, she even had some on her forehead. She splashed cold water on her face and ran a brush through her hair. Lucy hesitated, and then dabbed on a little perfume.

She felt better when she reemerged and shot Laxus her warmest smile. "Found it." She held up the first aid kit.

Laxus was still on the couch with his arms resting on the back cushions. He looked good sitting there. _Damn _good. Confident. It made Lucy a little nervous.

"I sent Freed a message to let everyone know you are alright," he said.

"Really, how did you do that?" She set the first aid kit down and found some disinfectant.

"Thought projection," he said. "I can use it to communicate with Freed, Bickslow, and Ever."

"I bet that's convenient. Is the dance almost over?"

Laxus titled his head to the side and waited a moment before answering her. "Yeah."

"Oh, that probably means Natsu will be over soon. I'm kinda surprised he's not here already."

Laxus was still for a minute. Finally, Lucy interrupted his thoughts.

"What? Are you talking to someone?"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." He smiled up at her.

Lucy leaned down to dab some of the medicine on his lip. The position was awkward and she fumbled. Laxus reached out and pulled her onto the sofa, draping her legs over his lap. "This will give you a better angle," he said.

Lucy blushed. She could feel his body heat radiating against the backs of her legs. She dabbed some of the disinfectant against his lip and he winced.

"Sorry," she murmured. Her gaze flicked to the jagged scar that ran across his eye before she looked away.

"It's okay," he said.

"What's okay?"

"It's okay to look at my scar. I'm used to it. I've had it since I was a kid."

Lucy couldn't resist. She reached up and let her fingers trace the flawed tissue.

"It's from surgery," Laxus continued. "The dragon lacrima is behind this eye." He reached up and brushed Lucy's fingers.

Lucy let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding and let her hand drop. She fought the urge to lean over and kiss him. Laxus had danced with her, kissed her, and rescued her. Now he was sitting on her couch and he looked good. Really good.

She put the disinfectant away and wiped her hands on her skirt. It was time to change the subject.

"Thanks for kicking the snot out of Bacchus."

Laxus half-coughed, and half-laughed. "That's one way to put it."

When he had stopped coughing, Lucy continued. "But before that, back at the dance…"

"Yeah?" he ventured suspiciously.

"You seemed mad at me. You grabbed my wrist. Why?"

Laxus sighed and looked around the room. He set his hands down on Lucy's shins and then removed them quickly, as if he hadn't realized what he was doing. "I was mad, but not at you. At least, I shouldn't have been." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I just didn't like watching you dance with the Arctic Man-Whore."

Lucy stared at him, unsure what he had just said. "Are you saying you didn't like that I danced with _Gray_?"

"Yeah. The Frozen Fudge cycle. The Ice Bastard. The guy with Tundra for brains. Gray. He was all over you."

Lucy laughed. "You seem to have a problem with him."

Laxus shrugged.

"What, were you a little jealous," she teased.

Laxus scowled. "It just seems wrong to kiss a guy and then let some other guy paw you."

Lucy's face flushed. "I didn't let him paw me. Besides _you_ kissed _me_. And you said you just wanted to see what it was like. That doesn't sound too serious.

"Yeah, but I liked it." He paused and then spoke more slowly. "And I can _make_ it more serious."

Laxus hesitated, searching Lucy's face. Lucy stared at him with wide eyes. She could feel something shifting in the room. Laxus leaned over and pressed his warm mouth against hers. Lucy closed her eyes and sank into the kiss. It started slowly, and then became more fervent. His lips moved in small circles, drawing her more deeply into him. When the kiss ended, Lucy's lips were numb.

Her eyelids fluttered open. "That _was __definitely_ more serious," she whispered. She grabbed the front of his shirt and leaned back. He fell on top of her and captured her lips again. His tongue slid into her mouth and mingled with hers. Lucy was melting. The things he was doing with his tongue were making parts of her throb. A large hand grazed her breast and she shivered. He pulled away again and looked at her.

"I can tell you are enjoying this," he said with a smirk. "But I won't do anything you aren't comfortable with. Do you want me to continue?"

She nodded and blushed. Laxus weaved his hand into her hair and pulled her head back against the sofa. Lucy let him. Her neck was stretched out and her back was slightly arched. The position should have made her nervous. She was giving up control. Instead, she felt herself relax. She wanted to give him control. She trusted him.

Lucy couldn't see his face but she could feel the weight of the lightning mage's gaze on her body. There was a pause and then Lucy felt Laxus's palm traced the curve of her breast again. He was being uncharacteristically gentle. He was either teasing her or testing her willingness. She hummed in satisfaction to let him know just how much she enjoyed his touch. He lightly skimmed his palm against the other breast and Lucy started to feel frustrated.

"More." She reached for his chest and stroked along the lines of the muscles there, trying to encourage him to move faster. He was still holding her hair so she could only look up at the ceiling.

"Not yet." His voice was deeper than it had been. He pulled her blouse up and exposed her flat stomach. "There's no need to rush." His fingers traced her belly.

"Why are you being so gentle?" she sighed.

He spoke so closely to her ear it sent chills down her spine. "Are you complaining? Don't worry, I won't be gentle for long." His voice was so low it was almost a growl. He licked the shell of her ear and she gasped.

Lucy felt more of her control slipping away. "What are you going to do?" she asked.

He cupped her breast. "Exactly what you want me to do. You just don't know it yet."

He adjusted himself so that his legs were between her thighs. Her skirt was bunched up around her waist. He rolled his hips and Lucy could feel the fly of his jeans rub against her panties. His pants had a definite bulge. He rubbed against her again, harder and her hips bucked involuntarily. "Shit," she breathed.

She was still pinned by her hair and couldn't move her neck to see him. Her lack of sight seemed to heighten her other senses. It felt like every inch of her skin was anticipating his touch.

"You liked that, didn't you?" he asked.

Her response was almost a sigh. "Yes."

He ground his hips into her again. "I've been watching you a long time. You're always so happy. You are always bouncing around the guild. You don't know what you've been doing to me. These…" He reached up and squeezed her breasts. "These have been tormenting me."

"I didn't know." Her voice was so slow like she had been drugged.

"It only seems fair that I torment you some. Don't you think?"

He lifted her blouse and pulled her right breast over the top of her bra. His mouth closed around her nipple and he began to suck. Lucy whimpered. "No, don't torment me. You don't want to torment me. Please!"

His tongue flicked back and forth, soliciting another whimper from her. His hips were moving at a steady rhythm now. Suddenly, his hand released her hair and Lucy could feel Laxus shifting. She looked up and saw him taking off his shirt.

His chest was massive. She started to sit up and then realized that half her chest was exposed. She started to fix her bra but Laxus pulled her hand away.

"Nah uh. That's counterproductive to what we're trying to do here." He pulled her shirt off and unfastened the bra. When her top half was completely bare, he pulled her into his lap so that she was straddling him. They kissed again and Lucy eventually relaxed enough to not feel embarrassed by her partial nudity. She loved the feeling of his warm skin pressed against her own. His hands slid along her back and down her ass. He grabbed her and started to move her back and forth against him. Lucy groaned into his mouth.

Laxus made a small "hmm" sound and grunted. He broke the kiss. "Damn, you are so sexy. I can't wait anymore. I need you now." He tossed her to the couch and she flopped onto her back. He stood up and unfastened his jeans. In one quick motion he had them and his underwear off. He stood above her a moment, letting her take in the sight of him.

Her eyes immediately went to his erect penis. It was long and thick. The tip of it almost reached his belly button. The pale skin was smooth and taught except near the base were large veins snaked out. She gaped and forced her eyes back up to his face. He laughed.

"I'll take that expression as a compliment."

He sat back down and moved her legs so that one of them lay across him. He started to lift her skirt and Lucy pushed it back down. Laxus gently moved her hand away and leaned over her stomach. He slid his tongue across her belly and she gasped.

"That tickles."

He lapped at her stomach more firmly and the tickle became a caress. He worked his tongue in circles as if he were French kissing the skin there.

She felt a hand on her thigh and her breath sped up. Fingers stroked the outside of her underwear and the writhing tongue motion stopped.

"You're soaked all the way through," he said in a horse voice.

"I'm sorry," she panted. Her face felt hot,she wasn't sure from her embarrassment or his ministrations. "I'm not usually this wet."

"Don't be sorry, it's a good thing. It will be easier to prepare you." His fingers slid along her panties again, pressing into them harder. His fingers were pressing the cotton fabric into the folds of skin there. He moved lower and found her entrance. He pushed his finger up and moved inside her before the cloth stopped him. He pulled back a little and then pushed hard, so hard that Lucy wondered if he would tear a hole in the cotton.

"Oh God," she moaned. It was frustrating to feel him so close to being inside her.

Laxus jerked the cloth to the side and slid a finger into her. Lucy made a girlish yelp and grabbed a fistful of his hair. "Oh wow, you're inside of me." She wiggled her hips and felt the digit move against her. Laxus curled his finger and Lucy arched her back. He slid his finger in and out of her before adding a second. The added girth stretched her and Lucy clenched her stomach muscles. There was twinge of pain and then she convulsed. An orgasm shot through her groin in small waves of pleasure. She cried out and felt heat rush through her.

When the last of the tremors left her body, Lucy opened her eyes. She hadn't even known when she had closed them. Laxus was staring at her with lust-filled eyes.

"You are incredibly beautiful to watch." His tone was low and seductive. "But I hope you don't think this is over."

Lucy grinned at him lazily. "I don't think I can do much more than lie here after that."

Laxus sat up and pulled off her soaked panties. He re-positioned himself above her. "That's fine. I don't mind doing all the work. I just want you to feel good." He slid the head of his cock against her and another small spasm ripped through her body.

"Ahh, oh god," she cried.

Laxus continued rubbing his erection against her so that he was covered in her liquid. "It's good that you are so wet. You felt pretty tight so this will make it easier."

When he was seemingly satisfied, he found her entrance again. It was like two magnets realigning. His muscles tensed and he began to press inside her. The progress was slow and Lucy could feel every inch of him as her body adjusted around him. Her earlier orgasm had left her relaxed which helped her accept his thickness. Finally, he completely filled her, but there was still more of him.

"Oh god, you don't fit," she groaned. She was so embarrassed, but he felt so good.

Laxus chuckled. "Its okay, you still feel wonderful. There are other positions we can try later that may be more accommodating."

He pulled back, almost as slowly as he had entered her, until only the tip of him was still inside her. Lucy clenched, trying to keep him inside and then he thrust back into her roughly.

"Fuck, that feels good," she cried out. She didn't usually curse but Laxus was having that effect on her.

Laxus pulled back again and repeated the motion several times, picking up speed. Each powerful thrust forward pushed Lucy further up the sofa and soon her head was dangling off the edge. She felt too weak to try and lift herself so she let her head bob with the motions.

He was starting to huff from the exertion. "Damn you feel so good Lucy." I don't think I'm going to last much longer."

Lucy could feel tension building up inside her. She was approaching her second climax. Second? Or was this her third? She couldn't tell anymore.

"Don't stop." She lifted her legs and wrapped them around him, pulling him deeper into her.

Abruptly, his speed changed and his thrusts became slow and hard. He rolled his hips, hitting new places inside of her. Spots appeared in front of Lucy's vision and her body rippled around him. She felt Laxus's cock twitch inside her and warm liquid filled her. They rode each other until they were completely spent and Laxus collapsed on top of her.

He stayed there for several minutes and Lucy listened as his breathing slowed. When his breath was close to normal he pulled out of her and rolled over. He pulled Lucy on top of him so that she could rest against his chest and stroked her hair.

She nestled against him and let his warm arms comfort her. He kissed the top of her head and spoke. "How do you feel?"

"Nice," she murmured. "Warm. Happy. How do you feel?"

"Like I just had really good sex."


	7. Chapter 7

Lucy awoke the next day in her bed. She didn't remember getting into it last night. Maybe Laxus had carried her there.

Laxus.

Lucy felt the sheets beside her and found them empty. She started to feel disappointed but then heard sounds coming from the kitchen. That had to be Laxus, or at least, she hoped it was. She grabbed her robe and went out to find him.

Laxus had poured himself a bowl of cereal and was shoveling large spoonfuls into his mouth. Dragon slayers sure liked to eat.

"Morning," she said with a smile.

"Morning," he said though a muffled bite. He swallowed. "I'm going to head over to Bacchus's apartment today and pick up your money."

Lucy fidgeted with the belt of her robe. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Of course, why not?" He poured himself a glass of orange juice and took a sip.

"Don't you think that will make him more angry?" She took a seat at the table but didn't touch any of the fresh fruit she usually ate for breakfast.

"Nah, he's usually pretty good about keeping his end of a bet." Laxus finished his cereal and took his bowl to the sink to rinse it out. "Of course, he expects others to uphold their end too."

"I bet he does," Lucy grumbled under her breath.

"Hey, don't be mad about it. There was no way I was going to lose to that drunk-ass. We've gone head to head several times over the years."

"I guess." But Lucy still felt uneasy about the whole ordeal.

"How much does he owe you anyway?"

Lucy did the math in her head. "840,000 jewels."

Laxus whistled. "Not bad. Looks like you won't be worrying about your bank account for awhile."

"Yeah." Silence stretched out between them.

Laxus walked behind her chair and wrapped his arms around her, nestling his face in her hair. "What are you going to do today?"

Lucy shrugged. "I guess I'll go to the guild and see if I can pick up any missions."

"Good luck. The S-class exams are coming up. All the rook…" He stopped himself. "All the members are going to be fighting over missions. You'll be lucky to find anything left on the board."

Lucy slumped. "You're right. I forgot about that." She picked up an apple and looked at it. "Well, maybe I'll stop by and see what's going on anyways."

Laxus leaned down and kissed her. "Don't worry about it. Do you want to grab a bite to eat when I get back?"

Lucy's heart skipped a beat. _It wasn't just a one night stand_, she thought. "Sure."

"Great, I'll stop by when I get back. Should be around seven or so. Bacchus lives out near Centurus so it will take awhile."

She walked him to the door and he pulled her against his chest. He kissed her again, sliding his tongue into her mouth. His hands ran down her backside and gave her a small squeeze.

She laughed and swatted at him playfully.

When Laxus left, Lucy got dressed and made her way to the guild. Laxus had been right. The castle and mission board were both completely empty.

Lucy sighed and flung herself into a chair. She would hang out for a little while and see if anyone stopped in. Otherwise, she was going home to run some errands before her date with Laxus.

"Hey gorgeous." Lucy turned around and saw Bickslow standing there. If possible, his toothy grin was even bigger than normal today.

"Oh, hey," she said.

Bickslow pulled a chair out and sat next to her.

"Aren't you going on extra missions so that you can get into the S-Rank trials?" asked Lucy.

"Nope." Bickslow put a foot up on one of the nearby chairs. "If I get in, I get in. No use in cramming. It's not really my style."

"Oh." Lucy sat there. Bickslow was still smiling and it was starting to make her uncomfortable. "Is there something you want to say to me?"

Bickslow flashed her a set of white teeth. "Maybe I just want to get to know you a little better."

"Yeah?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yeah." Bickslow looked pleased with himself. "Well, there's one thing I want to know."

Lucy sat silently. He was waiting for her to say "what?" but something told her she wouldn't like the answer.

He hesitated then shook his head as if he was clearing it. By the time he looked back at her, he looked like he was about to start laughing. "So, did my boy get it in last night?"

Lucy shot out of her chair and starting stalking to the door. Her face was blazing and she was pissed. What made Bickslow think he could ask her that? She heard him calling her name behind her. It sounded like he was apologizing but Lucy was too angry to care. She almost made it to the door when she felt a sharp pinch on her ankle.

"Ouch, what the hell was that?" Lucy looked down and saw a black spider with streaks of purple, blue and yellow running along its body it. She looked closer. The colors seemed to be moving in shimmering waves.

"Holy crap, this thing is crazy looking."

"Oh man, that's a Lady Su-Daxer spider." Bickslow was by her side, looking at the multi-colored arachnid.

Lucy held out her leg. The spider had crawled down to her shoe and seemed content to just sit there. "Kill it," she said briskly to Bickslow.

Bickslow shook his head and ran to the bar. He rummaged through the cupboards and reemerged with a Mason jar.

"Lady Su-Daxer spiders are extremely rare. They're worth a lot of money on the black market." He held the jar next to her shoe and flicked the spider inside.

"Why the heck would there be a black market for spiders?"

Bickslow gave her a wicked look. "Because they will get you crazy high."

**Luffy fan: As always, thanks for the reviews and thanks to randigirl for beta-reading.**


	8. Chapter 8

Lucy panicked. "I don't want to get high. I don't even like getting drunk." She paced around the guild, stopping in front of Bickslow. She clung to his arm. "What should I do? Should I go to the hospital? Am I gonna die?."

Bickslow watched her with an amused expression. "Relax. If you think bad things are going to happen, you'll have a bad trip." He patted her hands. "The secret is to think happy thoughts."

Lucy glared at him. "I'm about to start seeing pink bunnies and you are quoting Peter Pan at me?"

Bickslow laughed. "Yeah, and if you're lucky you'll get to fly."

Lucy let go of his arm and started walking towards the door.

Bickslow stopped laughing abruptly. "Hey, where are you going?"

Lucy didn't answer him. She was breathing hard, fighting back tears. The door slammed behind her. She wanted to run back to her apartment and try to sleep the effects of the spider bite off.

"Hey wait up."

Lucy heard Bickslow jogging behind her. "Can't you just leave me alone?" she snapped. She picked up her pace and kept her eyes on the ground.

"Look, maybe we got off on the wrong foot." Bickslow caught up to her and tried to make eye contact but Lucy continued to march forward. "I'm sorry if I was rude earlier. I was just playing around." He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked embarrassed.

Lucy kept walking in silence.

"Look, Laxus would probably be pissed if I just left you like this. Let me keep an eye on you until he gets back."

Lucy stopped walking and Bickslow took that as a good sign. "Do you know what time he'll be back?" he asked.

Lucy was staring at her hands intently. "Oh my god," she whispered.

"What?" asked Bickslow. He whispered back also although he wasn't sure why.

"My hands. They look so old. Did I get really old all of a sudden?" She looked up at Bickslow with terror filled eyes.

Bickslow laughed. "No gorgeous. You're still as cute as a button." He took her hands and rubbed them as if she were cold. "There is nothing wrong with your hands. The venom from the spider bite is kicking in."

"Oh." Lucy dropped her hands and started walking again. She made it about two steps before she stopped again.

"Oh wow, this is beautiful." She knelt down and picked up a rock and showed it to Bickslow.

Bickslow looked at the rock. It was just a rock. Nothing more, nothing less. "Yes, that is very beautiful," he said with deadpan sincerity. He fought the urge to start laughing again. Lucy seemed to be the complete package; sweet, beautiful, and smart, but right now she seemed to have the intelligence of the rock that she was admiring.

She stared at the rock for a full minute and then put it in her pocket. She looked back up at Bickslow. "Where are we going?"

The question stumped him. "I guess I don't know. I was just following you to make sure you were okay. Do you know where _you_ were going?"

Lucy thought about it and answered him slowly. "I _think_ I was going back to my apartment."

"Okay, well that sounds like a good plan." None of the other pedestrians were looking at them, but Bickslow was worried that Lucy's behavior might start to attract some attention.

Lucy looked around at the buildings and shops. "I don't know where we are though. Everything looks different." She chewed on her lower lip.

"We're just a couple blocks from the guild. You've probably walked past these shops a hundred times. Take another look."

Lucy walked up to one of the shops and ran her hands over the stonework. "I don't remember any shop that looked like this. This material feels like cotton."

Bickslow rolled his eyes. "Alright. You're completed stoned." He took her hand and started to lead her in the opposite direction. "I have a key to Laxus's apartment. We can hang out there until he gets back."


	9. Chapter 9

Laxus lived in uptown Magnolia which was one of the most expensive parts of town. Lucy wouldn't have recognized any of the buildings, even if she wasn't hallucinating. She had been poor ever since she had left her affluent home to become a mage.

Bickslow led her to a large stone building and they went up two flights of stairs. He opened the apartment door and ushered her in. "Hey are you thirsty?" He entered the doorway and began taking off his armor, revealing a Sex-Pistols t-shirt underneath.

Lucy shook her head and wandered around the apartment. Everything was done in typical "bachelor style"; black leather sofas, a modern glass coffee table, and steel accents throughout. The apartment seemed sterile and it was making her tense.

Lucy sat on one of the leather sofas. The leather clung to her skin and seemed to be sucking her in. She stood up quickly and moved over to a more comfortable-looking recliner.

_Now this is more like it_, she thought. She rubbed her cheek against the soft fabric. It seemed to caress her face, sending little currents of sensation across her skin. She turned in her seat and started to rub her head and shoulders against the cushion.

"Mmmm, this feels good," she murmured. She turned slightly and saw Bickslow staring at her intently. He had gotten himself a soda and was sitting on one of the black leather sofas.

He sat up straighter and shut his mouth when he saw her watching him. He laughed nervously. "Ha, you're acting like a cat."

Lucy giggled. She lifted her hands above her hands, striking a diva pose and purred.

Bickslow's eyes widened. "Hey that's pretty good. Where'd you learn to do that?"

Lucy smiled and rubbed her back against the recliner. Her skin was still tingling. "Grade school," she said airily.

"Oh yeah? Well, I don't think school girls should be making sounds like that." Bickslow took a sip of his soda and set it down before disappearing back into the kitchen. He re-emerged a minute later with a tub of ice cream.

"Oh, what flavor is that?" she asked. She squinted at the container but the letters were dancing around the label.

"Vanilla." Bickslow took the lid off and helped himself to a spoonful right out of the container.

"May I have some?" Lucy turned upside down in the recliner so that her feet were over the top and her head was hanging off the cushion.

"I don't know. Have you been a good kitty?" Bickslow raised an eyebrow and helped himself to another bite.

Lucy purred again in response. She turned over and slid off the recliner. She closed the few feet between them by crawling on all fours. The punk rocker mage froze with a spoonful of ice cream halfway to his mouth. Lucy sat up on her knees and started to take the ice cream from his hands.

The movement seemed to wake Bickslow. "Hey, no fair." He pulled the frozen desert from her grasp. Lucy tried to follow the pint of vanilla deliciousness but only succeeded in falling into Bickslow's lap. She pouted.

"Aw, come on."

Bickslow regarded her for a minute. His adams apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. He took a spoonful of the ice cream and offered it to her.

Lucy didn't bother to take the spoon. Instead, she leaned over and cleaned it in three long licks. Bickslow stared. "Damn," he whispered when she had finally finished the last drop of cream.

"What?" Lucy asked innocently before sitting back on her feet.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Bickslow asked.

"Acting like a cat, of course. I kind of feel like a cat. It's fun." She smiled and tilted her head at him. "Why?"

Bickslow just shook his head and got another spoonful of ice cream. He held it a few inches from Lucy's face. She moved forward to lick it but he eased back so that Lucy had to press against his thighs to reach the spoon. Bickslow let her lick the ice cream before putting it in his own mouth.

"Hey, you didn't get any ice cream," accused Lucy. The older mage shook his head. Sweat had begun to form on his brow. He put the spoon down and hesitated. He dipped his finger in the ice cream and held it out to her. Lucy smiled and wrapped her lips around the finger, twirling her tongue to lick the last of the ice cream.

Bickslow let out a long, slow breath. "Shit, shit, shit," he muttered. He wiped his hand off on his jeans and put his hands on Lucy's arms, easing her back. "No more ice cream." He took the container back into the kitchen.

Lucy started to shiver. "The ice cream is making me cold," she called into the kitchen.

Bickslow shouted from around the corner. "No problem, I'll find you a blanket." He came back a minute later with a soft blue afghan that seemed out of place for the modern apartment. Lucy wrapped it around herself and sat on the sofa. Bickslow sat next to her and started to wring his hands together nervously.

Lucy stared at him. "It looks like your tattoo is dancing," she said.

He sighed. "That's just a hallucination. It isn't real."

She leaned forward and touched the figure tattooed along the bridge of his nose. "I know, but its still wicked looking."

Bickslow stuck his tongue out at her.

"You have a big tongue."

"Yeah, the ladies seem to like it." Bickslow smirked.

Lucy blinked at him. "Why?"

Bickslow gulped and leaned back. "Nevermind."

"Speaking of ladies, did you have a nice time dancing with Cana last light?" She lowered her voice, hoping to gain his confidence.

"Huh? Oh yeah. Cana's cool."

Now it was Lucy's turn to frown. "That didn't sound very convincing. What's wrong with Cana?"

Bickslow took a long sip of his soda and then lowered his elbows onto his knees before looking at her. "You're prying," he said. "Nothing's wrong with Cana."

Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. "Well does that mean something is wrong with me? You seemed to prefer dancing with her last night."

Bickslow coughed and almost spilled his soda. "Seriously? That bugs you? You can't stand that I asked Cana to dance instead of you?" He started laughing. "Oh man, women are crazy."

Lucy scowled. She didn't like what he was implying. "I'm not crazy. Besides, it's not like I would have liked dancing with you anyways."

Bickslow's laughter abruptly stopped. He glared at Lucy. "I know. You did a pretty good job of shutting me down last year when I asked you out."

"Oh." She wrapped the blanket around her more tightly. She was shivering constantly now. "I forgot about that."

"Yeah, well I didn't." Bickslow looked angry now. "Besides," he continued. "If it makes you feel any better, I was playing wingman for Laxus. It wasn't a matter of personal preference."

Lucy looked at him questioningly. "What's a wingman?" A vision of Laxus with an Exceed like Happy or Pantherlily flashed through her mind. "Oh my God, is Laxus trying to find an Exceed?"

She was excited. Exceeds were tons of fun. It would be great if Laxus found one to hang out with.

Bickslow shook his head and made a disgusted sound. "Nevermind."

Lucy's teeth were starting to chatter. She huddled deeper into the blanket. "I'm still cold," she moaned.

Bickslow squinted at her and touched her mouth. "Your lips are blue." He put his hands against her face. "And you're skin is like ice." He suddenly looked scared. "This is bad."

"What does that mean?" Lucy started to panic. "Am I having a bad reaction to the spider bite or something?"

Bickslow pulled Lucy into his lap. "I don't know, but I need to warm you up." He took the afghan and wrapped it around both of them. He pulled Lucy in tight against his chest. She could feel body heat radiating off him.

"Wow, you're really warm."

"It's not that I'm warm. It's just that you are so cold." Bickslow rubbed his hands across her arms, trying to get her blood circulating.

Lucy was scared. She tried to get bury herself in the crook of Bickslow's neck. "I'm sorry I was mean to you. Please don't let me die."

"I'm not mad and you're not going to die." He smoothed her hair back.

Lucy couldn't stop shivering. "I didn't mean what I said earlier. I would have been happy if you had asked me to dance. I bet you are a great dancer. Laxus was pretty bad when we first started dancing, but then he was awesome. But I'm so cold now. I don't want to be cold anymore." She was babbling now.

"Shhh, it's okay." Bickslow kept stroking her arms.

Lucy fell silent and let her caretaker try to warm her up. Several minutes passed and the cold didn't seem to bother her as much. She started to feel sleepy. She let her body go limp.

"Hey, don't pass out on me." Bickslow shook her a little and Lucy's head bobbed back and forth. "Shit." He stood up and carried her into the bathroom. He set her down on the cold tile floor.

"This is even colder," mumbled Lucy.

Bickslow turned on the bathroom faucet. "I'm going to see if I can warm you up in the bathtub."

Lucy whimpered. "Please hurry. This feels awful."

Bickslow's face hovered above Lucy. "I'm going to have to undress you so I can put you in the tub. Okay?"

Lucy nodded weakly. She would have agreed to just about anything right then.

Bickslow grabbed one of the towels off the rack and covered her with it. He reached under the towel and eased her out of her clothes, trying to keep as much of her covered as possible. The process added a little time to his efforts but the blush on Bickslow's face let Lucy know he was having enough trouble, even with the towel.

Once the clothes were removed, Bickslow lifted Lucy and started to ease her into the tub. The water scalded her and she squeaked in protest. Bickslow did his best go slow and give her body time to adjust to the heat. Once she was fully in the water, the towel floated above her. The Seith magic user had decided to leave the towel on.

Lucy was beginning to think of Bickslow as her knight in shining armor.

"Thanks, but I haven't saved your butt yet."

Lucy blinked at him. "Did I say that out loud?"

"The part about me being your knight in shining armor? Yeah."

"Oh god, how embarrassing."

"You are completely naked except for a towel and you're embarrassed about that comment?"

Bickslow moved behind Lucy and supported her with his hands under her armpits. The position was uncomfortable and Lucy struggled to sit up more.

Bickslow understood her situation, but couldn't see a way around it. "Sorry, if this hurts but I don't think you're able to support yourself yet and I don't want you to drown."

"Can you find a more comfortable position?"

He leaned closer and lowered his hands so that he was holding her ribcage. He pulled her back and her head settled against the back of the bathtub. He tried to ignore the weight of her breasts on his forearms. Laxus was going to fry him if he found out.

"Perfect," she said. She was now resting comfortably and starting to feel better. She noticed that the sleeves of Bickslow's shirt were skimming the water. "You're getting wet. Maybe you should take your shirt off."

"No way, if Laxus comes back and finds us both undressed, he'll kill me."

"You don't really think Laxus would kill you, do you? You're doing a great job of looking out for me."

He didn't respond. Lucy wished she could see his face but the angle was all wrong. "Really," she continued. "I'd probably be wondering around Fiore right now if you hadn't helped me." Her towel had floated to a corner of the tub but Lucy didn't pay it any attention.

"I'm glad you and Laxus are friends," she added. "I'm looking forward to getting to spend more time with you and the other Thunder God Tribe members."

"Laxus isn't just my friend, he's my best friend." Bickslow spoke close to her ear. He sounded sad. "I look up to him. He's strong, smart, good-looking... The guy's got it all."

"You're not jealous are you?" Lucy joked.

The grip on her ribcage tightened. "Not often," he said softly.

As if on cue, Lucy heard the front door open. "Lucy? Bickslow? Are you here? I got your message and came back as soon as possible."

"Shit," whispered Bickslow. He let go of Lucy and stood up.

"We're in the bathroom," called out Lucy.

Bickslow shot her an angry look. He turned around and adjusted his pants.

"What?" asked Lucy. She didn't think she deserved the dirty look Bickslow had given her. All she had done was let Laxus know where they were.

Heavy footsteps starting coming towards the door. Bickslow's eyes went wide. Lucy didn't understand why he looked so scared.

"Cover yourself," he hissed.

"What?" she hissed back.

"With the towel." Bickslow pointed fiercely at the soggy cloth that was bunched in a corner of the bathtub.

Lucy blinked, trying to remember what it was there for. Towels were used for drying, and this one was all wet.

The door opened and Laxus came in. "What are you guys doing in the bathro…" The last word hung in the air as Laxus took in his surroundings. His eyes went to Lucy, wet, naked Lucy_,_ then to Bickslow, back to Lucy, and then finally settled on Bickslow. His face was started to turn red and his fists were clenching and unclenching.

"What… the… fuck… is… this?" He paused between each word like it was hard to speak them.

"I can explain," said Bickslow in a rush. He held up his hands as if in self defense.

"Laxus!" called out Lucy happily. She started to stand up so she could go and hug him.

"Sit back down," snarled Laxus.

He sounded livid and it scared her. Lucy sat back down and tried to make herself small in the bathtub. She wanted to ask him what she had done wrong but something told her that was a bad idea.

"Don't be mad at her," said Bickslow. "She probably doesn't understand what's happening."

Laxus looked at Lucy again and the anger in his face lessened slightly. "I'm not mad at her. She was about to expose herself." His eyes slid back towards Bickslow and his anger flared. "Right now, I'm going to focus on being bad at _you_." He looked down. "You seem to be pretty happy that she's naked, you goddamn pervert." He grabbed him by the collar and pulled him out of the bathroom.

Bickslow was stammering. "I-I couldn't help that. It's not what it looks like. There was a medical emergency. I would never… I know what Lucy means..."

He was cut off as the door slammed shut behind them. Lucy stared at it. She could hear yelling. She didn't want to hear it. She closed her eyes and sank deeper into the tub so that the water covered her ears. It felt good. The water blocked out most of the noise. She opened her eyes a little and could see steam drifting up from the water. It was beautiful. She closed her eyes again and let her thoughts carry her away. She imagined that she was sitting at the beach, soaking in the sun's rays. It was hot and she liked it. She relaxed further. Maybe she would take a little nap. A nap sounded heavenly. A nap would make everything better. Lucy smiled lazily and drifted off into unconsciousness.


	10. Chapter 10

_I can't breathe._

Lucy's throat and lungs were burning. She tried to breathe in but the muscles pushed out instead, coughing up fluid. It felt like she coughed forever, but finally her body listened to her and she was able to take in air. She opened her eyes and looked around.

Laxus was peering down at her. She smiled instantly. "Hey."

Tension in his eyes eased. "Hey yourself."

"What's going on?"

"You fell asleep in the bathtub. You almost drowned."

"Oh." She probably should have been more concerned but she couldn't quite process what he had just told her.

Bickslow's head popped up over Laxus's shoulder. "Hey gorgeo…" he stopped himself. "Hey Lucy." He spoke to Laxus. "That was a pretty close one, huh? We should probably just be glad she's safe and call it a night."

Laxus's brow furrowed. He pulled Lucy closer, putting himself further between her and Bickslow. "Stop looking at her." He started pulling the bed covers over her, but not before Lucy realized she was still naked. Once she was sufficiently covered, he turned towards Bickslow. "You better be telling the truth."

"I am. I am. She was turning blue. I thought she was going to die or something. The bathtub seemed like the fastest way to warm her up. She was having a really severe reaction to the bite." He leaned a little closer. "Look at her pupils. She's still tripping balls."

Laxus stared down at Lucy for a moment. "Yeah, she's gone alright. Did you keep the spider?"

Bickslow nodded and left the room. He came back a few moments later carrying the Mason jar. Laxus took it from him and examined it. "Damn, he's vicious looking. The coloring is really bright. That means he's more venomous than most. That probably explains her extreme reaction."

Bickslow crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "Well, I hadn't heard that before."

Lucy was getting bored. She tried to get up but the covers were wrapped around her tightly. She sighed and looked up at Laxus. "Can you help me out of this?"

"No." He put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down. "The bedspread is the only thing covering you and right now. I'm scared to think of the trouble you could get into if you could move. I don't want you trying to fly out a window or anything."

Lucy pouted and tried make Laxus feel sympathetic with her eyes.

"It's not going to work," he said, but the corners of his mouth twitched upwards.

Lucy saw the smile and felt triumphant. "Are you _sure_, its not going to work?" She let a little flirtation slip into her voice. She made a half turn and managed to get an arm free. Laxus immediately readjusted the cover, but Lucy ran her fingers along his forearm before he could pull away.

Laxus stopped mid-motion. He _loved _that Lucy was flirting with him but Bickslow was still in the room and she was still as high as a kite.

Bickslow didn't need telepathy to read his thoughts. He clapped his hands together and addressed Laxus in a formal voice that was a bit too loud. "Well, I think I'll be going now." He leaned in closer to Laxus and whispered, "But you have to fill me in on what you do to her later." He smiled his maniac smile and stuck his tongue out, dodging out of the way before Laxus could land a jab on his shoulder. Laxus wasn't mad at Bickslow any more. He trusted his comrade with his life, why not his girl?

"Bye, bye Bickslow," said Lucy.

"Bye Lucy. I'm glad you didn't die." He let himself at of the apartment.

Laxus looked down at Lucy. She was smiling and her hair was in wet tangles from her earlier bath. Knowing that she was naked underneath the covers made something inside him stir but he pushed it down. It wouldn't be right to sleep with her in this condition. The lightning mage wrapped the covers around Lucy more tightly, actually rolling her in them like a Lucy burrito.

She laughed and then tried to get out. "Hey, now I _really_ can't move."

"I know. How about you try to get some sleep? The effects of the bite will wear off in a couple hours."

Lucy nodded and snuggled into the covers. She felt warm and secure. It was easy to fall asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Lucy awoke with a pounding headache. She groaned and tried to reach up to massage her forehead but found that she couldn't move her arms. Panic set in and she tried to flail around but only managed to a wiggle a few inches. She took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. Memories came flooding back. She remembered being bitten by a psychedelic spider and Bickslow taking her back to Laxus's apartment. Her eyes quickly scanned the room. She vaguely recognized it as Laxus's bedroom.

She tried to move again and realized that she was wrapped up in a bedspread. Lucy silently scolded herself for getting so terrified over a piece of bedding. It surely wouldn't require Houdini-type skills to escape the thing.

She wiggled and writhed for a few minutes, trying to inch her way out of the top before giving up. She remembered that Laxus was supposed to be at the apartment.

"Laxus, are you here? Can you help me out?" Silence. _Damn_, she thought. _Maybe he stepped out for a minute_.

Sweat started to trickle down her back which made her want to hurry even more but panicking wouldn't help the situation. Another thought occurred to her. If she couldn't wiggle out of the top, maybe she could just unroll herself.

She threw her weight to the right and flopped over. Sure enough, the tightness of the cover surrounding her eased. Another two flops and she was free. Lucy laughed out loud, feeling both embarrassed and proud of herself.

She got up, dressed and quickly padded out of the bedroom. She checked each of the rooms to make sure that Laxus wasn't sleeping somewhere. He wasn't. She headed into the kitchen and found a note on the marble counter.

_Hey sleepyhead,_

_It's 7pm now and you've been asleep for five hours. You're not showing any more crazy symptoms although you do snore a little._

Lucy cursed under her breath and blushed. She continued reading.

_I'm heading to The Sleeping Dragon to see Bacchus and get your money. It's a bar just two doors down from here. I didn't get to meet with him earlier and he agreed to meet closer to my apartment. If you happen to wake up before I get back, feel free to stop by. _

_Laxus_

Lucy put the note down and let out a long breath. She checked her watch. It was almost 10pm. Collecting on the bet would only take a few minutes. Bacchus had most likely left the bar hours ago. What was Laxus still doing out? Did something bad happen?

She put on her shoes and checked herself in the mirror. She gasped. She had the most awful case of bedhead. Clearly, she had gone to sleep with wet hair. She grimaced, recalling a few snippets of memory from the bath she took last night. She hadn't been in the bathtub with Laxus. It had been Bickslow. Well, he hadn't been _in_ the bathtub but still… She cringed and pushed the memory away. She found a brush and tried to repair the damage to her hair as best she could before leaving the apartment.

She found the bar easily enough. Laxus hadn't been exaggerating when he said it was only two doors down. The celestial mage opened the door and scanned the room. Her heart sank when she saw Laxus sitting at a booth with Bacchus.

"Damn," she muttered. She was glad that Laxus was okay but she was really hoping to avoid Bacchus. Laxus saw her immediately and motioned for her to come over. He seemed to be in good spirits.

Lucy slid into the booth next to Laxus, avoiding eye contact with Bacchus. "Hey," she muttered towards the table. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I couldn't find you when I woke up."

Laxus pulled her down into a deep kiss. It surprised her and she resisted at first. She wasn't used to public displays of affection but Laxus was persistent and she loved the feel of him. He slid his tongue into her mouth, lengthening the kiss. By the time he pulled away, Lucy was gasping for air. She felt hot all over and looked at him for some explanation for what he had just done. He was smiling lazily and reaching for a beer. She realized suddenly, that he was drunk.

She glanced up at Bacchus and took in his flushed skin. He had been drinking too, but his eyes were steady on her with a burning intensity. She shuddered and wondered what had been going on in the three hours since Laxus had left to collect the winnings from the bet.

Bacchus spoke first. "She seems really responsive. I can see what you like about her. Such a wild spirit." His smug tone brought the blood up in Lucy's face.

Laxus took a sip of his beer and looked adoringly at Lucy. "She's beautiful," he said with a slight slur. His eyes flicked towards Bacchus. "And _all_ mine." He leaned back, satisfied.

Lucy was peeved (and a little flattered). She felt like the two men were discussing her as if she were a fancy new toy. "What do you mean 'all yours'?" she challenged.

"It means no more dancing with Gray." Laxus put his beer down. "And no more Natsu sleeping in your bed."

"He just does that because it's more comfortable. It's nothing, he's my teammate."

"Sounds suspicious to me."

Bacchus was nodding in agreement. "Definitely suspicious. But I thought you mentioned that you two had just started dating? Seems a little presumptuous to be putting limitations on her." He motioned to a waitress. "Another round for my two friends here. Lucy, what will you be drinking?"

"Nothing for me. I don't plan on staying long." She glared at Bacchus. Lucy had to agree that Laxus was being a little possessive but she sort of liked it. She _didn't_ like the fact that he had been discussing it with the alcoholic sponge. She leaned into Laxus and hissed at him. "You're drunk. What do you think you are doing?"

He patted her knee and spoke loudly enough for Bacchus to hear. "Bacchus here has apologized for overstepping your bounds. He's agreed to buy a few drinks to show us how sincere he is."

"Do you really think that is appropriate?" Lucy didn't care if Bacchus could hear her or not.

Laxus shrugged. "He's paid his debt." His hand disappeared beneath the table and came back up with a stack of bills. He set it on the table and continued. "I've known Bacchus for years. He can be a creep but he's actually pointed me towards a few good missions. S-Class mages in this kingdom are a small knit group, less the 100 total."

Bacchus nodded. "Closer to 75 actually, although Remis was just promoted." He kept staring at Lucy until she squirmed.

"I'm going to the restroom." Lucy stood up and left the table. When she was out of view of the booth she leaned against the hallway's wall to take a couple deep breaths. An arm wrapped around her waist.

"Laxus, I'm not really in the mood for this." She spun around.

It was Bacchus. She knocked his hands away but he stepped towards her, forcing her back. He pressed his hands against the wall on either side of her head, caging her in.

"If I scream, Laxus will come over here and kick your little perverted ass."

Bacchus turned his head and looked down at his backside. "My ass is little? Well, I guess I should be flattered that you noticed."

Lucy huffed and tried to duck under one of the arms but Bacchus leaned into her. "Relax, I'll let you go back to your muscle-bound meat-head in a minute. I just wanted to ask you a quick question."

"What's that?"

Bacchus leaned further in so that his body was flush against hers and spoke directly in her ear. "Aren't you scared that Laxus's arrogance is going to get you hurt?"

Sweat broke out across her skin. It sounded like Bacchus had something up his sleeve and he had nailed Laxus's one weakness; arrogance.

Lucy lifted her foot and brought the heel of her shoe down hard on Bacchus's foot. He grunted and moved back a couple inches allowing Lucy to hurry towards their booth.

"Let's go," she said without preamble.

Laxus looked up at her with a slightly bleary expression. "Okay, but I have to settle the check."

"I thought Bacchus was buying?"

"He was buying the drinks but I got a hamburger." Lucy gave him a dirty look and he held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "Hey I didn't have much food in the house and I was hungry. I hadn't eaten since breakfast."

Lucy reached down and plucked one of the 1000 jewel notes off the top of the stack sitting on the table. "There, that should cover it. Now, can we get out of here?" She felt someone come up behind her.

Laxus was smiling and pulling on his jacket. He looked past Lucy. "Hey Bacchus, we're heading out. It's been a pleasure taking your money."

"Of course, anytime," said Bacchus. He came up next to Lucy and put his hands on the table. "Although I don't think you'll be so lucky next time."

Lucy's heart skipped a beat. He was baiting Laxus.

"Luck's got nothing to do with it. I can take you down anytime, anywhere." Laxus was still casual as he fumbled with his coat sleeve.

"If you're so sure about that, then how about a little rematch?" Bacchus held his hands out like he was suggesting they go watch a soccer game sometime.

Lucy tried to make eye contact with Laxus but he was still struggling with his coat. His coordination was definitely off. "Nah, Lucy wants to leave. Maybe next time," suggested Laxus.

"Don't tell me the great lightning mage is scared?"

Laxus stopped fumbling and looked up at Bacchus. "What did you say?"

"You heard me. I think you're backing out because you're _chicken shit_."

Laxus's eyes narrowed and he started taking the jacket off.

"Laxus don't listen to him. It's not worth it. Pleeease," Lucy begged.

"Your girl doesn't seem to have much faith in you," Bacchus chided.

Laxus looked at Lucy, clutching her hands together in a pleading motion. Her lack of faith in his fighting abilities offended him. "You don't _still_ think I'm going to lose, do you?"

Lucy chose her words carefully. "No, I just don't like being used as some sort of betting chip."

Laxus stood up, testing his steadiness. He gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead. "No problem, we'll just go with double or nothing. If I win…" he leaned over and gave Lucy a wink, "Bacchus will owe you another 840,000 jewels. If he wins, we'll just give him his money back."

Lucy relaxed a little. As much as she enjoyed having rent money for a year, she preferred the chance of losing it over a night with Bacchus. "You've been drinking though. Wouldn't it be better to duke-it-out some other time?"

Laxus titled his head to the side like he was considering it. "But he's been drinking too."

"Yeah, but he probably drinks this much for breakfast."

Laxus shook his head and rolled up his sleeves. "I can still take him."

Bacchus interjected. "So, it's settled. We're making the same bet as last time." He held out his hand for Laxus to shake.

Laxus grasped it without hesitation. "Agreed."

Bacchus smiled wickedly. "And of course, the bet last time was a year's worth of Lucy's rent or a night with Lucy."

Confusion filled Laxus's face. "Huh? Wait, I thought we were betting double or nothing."

Bacchus eyed Lucy as if he was imagining all the things he would do to her. "That's not what you just agreed to." He didn't take his eyes away from Lucy as he spoke. He was enjoying the look of fear and realization in her expression.

Laxus reached out and grabbed Bacchus around the collar, forcing him to meet his gaze. "Stop looking at her like that," he threatened.

The bartender shouted from over the bar. "Hey, if you two are going to get rough, take it outside."

"WE WILL," Bacchus and Laxus said together in perfect unison.

Lucy watched in horror as the two men stalked outside. They were both eager for a fight. Bacchus was even stretching his arm as he exited the bar. Her first instinct was to follow them out and watch the fight but she hesitated. Laxus was trashed and Bacchus was totally in control. Laxus really might lose and if he did, she didn't want to be around to be _collected_ by Bacchus.

She looked around the bar. There was a side entrance. She ran through it and kept running.


	12. Chapter 12

Bacchus was walking along the town's sidewalk, about two blocks behind his lovely target. He had seen Lucy run out of the bar and had hastily sucker-punched Laxus. The lightning mage had flown back, crashing into the bar's dumpsters. The blow wasn't enough to keep the brute down for good, but it had given Bacchus enough time to slip away.

The palm magic user dimly regretted leaving the fight, but what was the point in fighting if there wasn't a prize to win? Besides, Laxus was down and that was good enough for him.

After checking his palm for injuries, Bacchus took off after Lucy, making sure to keep enough distance between them so he wouldn't be noticed. After several blocks, the celestial mage's pace slowed to a quick walk and Bacchus did like wise. The young woman would occasionally glance over her shoulder but Bacchus anticipated her movements and hid within the shadowed storefronts. He didn't think the cat and mouse game was really necessary but the pursuit was driving his spirit wild.

She turned a corner and he hurried forward. The train station came into view and he grinned. _Good choice_, he mused. _If I hadn't ended the fight so quickly, she would have gotten away. I like a girl who's resourceful. _He watched her slip into one of the rail cars and hopped into the one behind it.

The rail car was completely empty. It was the last train leaving the station that night and most people were already home for the day. He took a seat and imagined what the pretty girl in the next car was doing. Was she scared? Did she think she had gotten away?

Bacchus had first noticed Lucy weeks ago in a magic shop. Her generous figure and sweet nature intrigued him. Even more interesting was the Fairy Tail insignia on her hand. She was a rival… albeit a very sexy rival. She had left the store without even glancing in his direction but Bacchus was captivated. He asked around Quatro Cerberus but no one knew anything about the new buxom blonde in Fairy Tail. Bacchus even checked the latest issue of Sorcerer Weekly. It was well known that one of the reporters there was a major Fairy Tail fanboy and he may have written an article about the enchanting member. There hadn't been an article but there _had_ been a Lucy action figure at the newsstand. Bacchus was nearly floored when he moved the miniature's arms and her clothes fell off. He swallowed his pride and bought the small toy. Apparently, it was their number one seller.

Bacchus's thought returned to his current situation. He wondered if the young woman would resist him. She was probably furious with Laxus. Who knew? Maybe Lucy would be so angry with Laxus that she would let Bacchus ravish her. The palm magic user had been sure to play into Laxus's ego, flattering him with compliments and feeding him with alcohol). The overgrown thug didn't know how to keep a woman like Lucy happy. It was true that Laxus was good-looking. Laxus and Lucy seemed like the perfect Ken and Barbie couple. But then again, Ken didn't have any balls.

The train lurched forward and Bacchus felt a surge of excitement. He forced himself to wait a few minutes for the train to speed up before heading into the next car.

The pretty mage was staring out the window and looked up when he entered. Her eyes widened and she stood up to run. Bacchus used his magically enhanced speed to close the distance between them in an instant. The celestial mage reached for her keys but he easily plucked them out of her hand.

"What's wrong princess? I'm starting to think you don't like me."

Lucy pulled her arm pack and slapped Bacchus straight across the face. It was a hard slap and Bacchus hadn't been expecting it. He stood in shock for a moment before rage began to fill him.

He grabbed the young woman by the arm and dragged her into one of the sleeper cars, slamming the door shut. "You really shouldn't have done that," he snarled at her. "If you won't be a lady, then I don't have to be a gentleman."

**Luffy fan: Thank you so much for all the reviews last chapter. I couldn't stop grinning after reading them. **

**Sorry this is so late in coming and sorry if the chapter is a little short. I will try to keep up a faster pace although I want to write a quick Wallflower oneshot sometime this week. A story popped into my head and I want to get it down before I forget. Thanks to randigirl for beta-ing this chapter and all the previous ones.**


	13. Chapter 13

Lucy backed into the far end of the little compartment. She used her magic to try and reach out to Loke. He had come to her aid without the use of her keys before, so it was worth a shot.

"What are you doing?" Bacchus took a step towards her. "I can feel you using your magic. What can you do without your keys?"

"Stay away from me you bastard."

_Loke, Loke, Loke_, she thought frantically.

Bacchus closed the distance between them and forced Lucy against the wall. She glared at him defiantly.

"I said…" but she was cut off before she could finish as Bacchus forced his lips against hers. His kiss was rough and demanding. Bacchus was pressed too closely for Lucy to move away. She started to get angry. _How dare he! __**Nobody**__ puts Lucy in a corner._ A cold calm came over her and she knew what she had to do.

She relaxed and returned his abrasive kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. Bacchus made a small appreciative sound and ran his hands along her arms. The kiss became gentler, more exploratory. He pulled back, breathing hard. "You…" he started to say hoarsely, and then shook his head. He peered at her and ran a finger along her cheek. "I'm sorry if I was too rough earlier. That slap really hurt." His eyelids half-closed and he leaned in again. Lucy shifted her position and Bacchus let her. She had more room to move now. She tightened her grip behind his neck and drove her knee up into his groin in one fast motion

Bacchus screamed and crumpled to the floor. The celestial mage quickly side-stepped him and ran out of the sleeper compartment. She opened the door between the railcars and looked down. The track was visible between the two train cars and appeared to be racing beneath her. She reached out and tried to open the door to the other car. It was locked. She heard a pained groan and looked back. Bacchus was trying to stand up. She looked back outside the train and saw a ladder leading up to the top of the railcar. She took a deep breath and started to climb.

"Wait," Bacchus called out.

She didn't listen. She reached the top in moments. The wind howled, whipping her hair around her. She turned around. The other railcar was just a couple feet away with a ladder identical to the one she clung to now. Still gripping her current ladder with one hand, she stretched out for the other. Her hand came up less than six inches short. The thought of escape was the only thing in her mind as she steadied herself and pushed out with her legs. She grabbed the other ladder with both hands but couldn't manage a foothold. The train bounced and she slammed into the car's surface. Lucy lost her grip.

She fell. _I'm going to die_, she thought.

Strong arms caught her from behind and yanked her back into the railcar. She looked up, trying to process what had just happened. Bacchus had snagged her from the doorway as she fell. Now he was looking down at her with a livid expression on his face.

"What the hell were you thinking? You're not Indiana Jones or some action hero. You could have gotten yourself killed." Sweat was rolling down his forehead. He carried her back into the sleeping compartment and dropped her into one of the chairs.

Lucy sat there numbly. Did Bacchus really just save her?

The palm magic user kicked a bag that was underneath the room's small dining table. He reached down and grabbed it angrily. He started to rummage through it's contents.

The harsh motions woke Lucy up from her daze. "I was trying to get away from you! You were assaulting me."

He looked at her dryly. "It was a kiss. I've heard that some girls _like_ being kissed."

"Not like that. Besides, how do I know that is all you had in mind?"

Bacchus was fuming. "I have a wild spirit but I'm not a rapist!"

She stared at him. Bacchus had pulled out four slices of bread, some ham, cheese spread, and a knife. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Making something to eat, what the hell does it look like?" he grumbled.

He angrily spread cheese on two of the pieces of bread. His motions were rough and the bread was getting squished.

"Ahh…" started Lucy. She was thinking about mentioning the abuse the poor sandwiches were taking. Bacchus didn't seem to be aware of his violence toward the innocent sandwiches.

Bacchus held up a hand to stop her. "Don't worry. I got the message loud a clear. No need to go throwing yourself off any more trains." He finished with the cheese spread and slapped the ham on. He put the other pieces of bread on top, pressing them down with his palm. He now had two very rough looking sandwiches. Lucy's stomach grumbled. She hadn't eaten anything since she had ice cream with Bixslow. That had been almost twelve hours ago.

He sat down and bit into the sandwich, chewing hard. Lucy just gaped at him. He had gone from terrifying sexual predator to sulking child in just minutes. Her stomach rumbled again and Bacchus rolled his eyes. He slid the other ham and cheese sandwich over to her.

"For me?"

He nodded and took another bite of his sandwich, not making eye contact with her. Lucy lifted the sandwich and tentatively took a bite.

"This is delicious!" she exclaimed. "What kind of cheese is this?"

Bacchus continued to pout but Lucy thought she saw the corner of his mouth twitch. It seemed to please him that she liked the meal he had prepared. "It's made in France. There's a small shop near my apartment that sells foreign cheese." He reached into his bag and pulled out his wine jug, taking a long sip.

Lucy ate the rest of her sandwich quickly and eyed the other half that Bacchus had left on the table.

Bacchus took another sip of his wine and then slid the other half of his meal towards her.

"Thanks." She picked it up and smiled at him. Being nice might get her out of this bizarre situation.

He grunted.

"And thanks for catching me." She couldn't quite bring herself to say _thanks for saving me_. She bit into the second sandwich. "So, what now? Am I free to go?"

Bacchus seemed to have regained some of his composure. "Free to go? Because of you I have lost a lot of money, gotten into two fights, been slapped, and kneed in the balls." His eyes narrowed at the last statement. "I think the least you can do is honor the bet and spend the rest of the night with me."

"I will NOT sleep with you."

Bacchus frowned. "You sure know how to make a guy feel special." He took another sip of wine. "Is it because you find me completely repulsive or just that you are _sooo_ devoted to the muscle-head?"

It was Lucy's turn to frown. She wanted to blurt out "both," but that was just mean. "Well, you didn't exactly make the best first impression."

Bacchus stared at her, waiting for her to continue. She expected him to be angry but if he was, he wasn't showing it.

"And I _am_ seeing Laxus."

"Even after the crap he pulled tonight?"

Lucy flushed. She _had_ been angry at Laxus but she didn't want to admit that to Bacchus. She decided silence was her best response.

"I thought so," he said with a smirk. "Well, be my date for the evening and maybe I can convince you that you are interested in the wrong mage."

_Not likely_, she thought. But, this more reasonable Bacchus was a lot less scary than the lecherous one. _If it means he'll behave himself, let him think he has a chance_.

"Okay, but you have to be a gentleman."

Bacchus laughed. "I'll make you a deal. If you don't kick me in the balls, I'll forget all the stupid shit you did tonight. _And_ I'll be on my best behavior."

**Luffy fan: For the American readers, I hope you all had a nice Forth of July. All of my neighbors were shooting fireworks, I'm glad my house didn't burn down. It scared the crap out of one of my dogs.**

**The sandwich scene is inspired by the Hollows by Kim Harrison. This is a great urban fantasy series if you like the genre.**

**Thank you again for all the reviews and to randigirl for proofing this for me.**


	14. Chapter 14

Lucy and Bacchus got off the train at _Lupus Run_. Lucy had never been to the town before but it looked pleasant enough. There was a cobblestone street lined with shops, inns, bars and restaurants. Most of the businesses were closed but a few lights were still on, providing a place for the night owls to socialize. The next train for Magnolia didn't leave until the morning so Lucy would just have to find some way to deal with Bacchus until then.

Bacchus reached down to take Lucy's hand but she pulled away. He frowned and pretended to pick a piece of lint off his coat. They walked down the street for a few minutes in silence.

"So, what would you like to do?" she asked.

Bacchus raised an eyebrow at her and smirked.

"Let me rephrase that. How about we see what places are open?"

Bacchus may a small, mocking bow. "Whatever my lady desires."

Lucy shot him a dirty look and walked towards the closest business with lights on. It was an inn. She kept walking without slowing down and came to another storefront that was lit up. It was a little karaoke bar called _Howl at the Moon_.

"What do you think?" She nodded towards the bar.

"Sounds like my kind of place." Bacchus put his arm on Lucy's back and ushered her into the bar before she could protest.

They grabbed stools at the bar and Bacchus ordered two glasses of wine. Lucy wasn't much of a drinker but she didn't protest. She enjoyed an occasional drink and she could make the single glass last the whole night if she sipped slowly.

She glanced at Bacchus's glass. It was already half empty. A thought suddenly occurred to her. If he got drunk, which from previous encounters seemed very likely, maybe she could ditch him and find a place to sleep. She checked the time. It was already 11pm. Even though she had spent most of the day sleeping off the hallucinogenic spider bite, she was still tired. She needed to do something quickly, before she was completely worn out.

"So, what's it gonna be?"

"Huh?" Lucy turned her attention back to Bacchus. He had been speaking to her but she had missed everything he said. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

If Bacchus was annoyed, he hid it well. "I was asking what you were going to sing?"

"Oh." Lucy laughed nervously. "I'm not really much of a singer." She looked to the front of the bar where the karaoke equipment was set up. The DJ was talking to one of the waitresses and no one was singing. _They_ _must be taking a break_, thought Lucy.

"Are you going to sing something?" The thought of Bacchus singing karaoke was amusing_. I might even enjoy seeing that, _Lucy mused.

He shrugged and downed the rest of his wine. He motioned for the bartender to get him another. "Would you like me to?"

"Sure." She fought to keep her voice neutral but she could feel a smile tugging at her lips.

"Well, then maybe I'll have to sing something for you."

He reached down and took her hand, positioning it so her palm faced upwards. He ran his finger along one of the lines in her hand. Lucy tried to jerk her hand back but he held it firmly.

"I won't bite, relax," he scolded.

Lucy forced the tension out of her hand and tried to remain calm. Bacchus traced the line in her palm again. "This line shows the major events in your life."

Lucy rolled her eyes at him. "If I wanted to get my fortune told, I'd ask Cana to use her tarot cards. You remember Cana, right?"

Bacchus tapped his finger against his chin. "Ah, yes. The brunette with a nice rack. I'm surprised she lasted as long as she did. I was actually hung-over the next day."

Lucy scoffed, remembering the first time she had ever heard of Bacchus. He had challenged Cana to a drinking contest. No one had thought he stood a chance but after a couple barrels of alcohol, the resident Fairy Tail drunk had passed out. Bacchus had taken the opportunity to relieve her of her bikini top.

"Well, you don't seem to regret what you did to her," she mumbled.

"I'm not. She lost."

_Arrogant bastard. _Lucy tried to take her hand back but Bacchus was still holding it. He was looking at it as if he were reading an epic novel.

"Find anything interesting?" Lucy let tone show her irritation.

"Most of it's the usual sort of thing. You've suffered the loss of two loved ones. You've lost a fortune but will reclaim another." He paused. "This is interesting…"

Lucy's heart was pounding. She lived in a world of magic so it shouldn't have surprised her to hear Bacchus rattle off two intimate details about her life but it was still unnerving. The two loved ones were most likely her parents and she _had_ been born rich, only to run away from it.

"What?" she breathed, unsure that she wanted to hear the answer.

"Your spiritual energy." He grinned at her. "The line that measures it splits in two."

Lucy relaxed. "Well, I suppose that makes sense. My magic calls to another realm." Bacchus released her palm and she looked at the line that he had been tracing. She looked but up at Bacchus and was startled to see his eyes blazing with intensity. He held out his palm to her for her to examine.

"You have the same split in your spiritual energy line." She blinked up at him, confused. "But you aren't a celestial mage. Your magic is physical."

Bacchus grabbed his wine and took another large swig. He set the glass down and started to tap his fingers against the bar. "That's true, but I have been to the spirit world."

"What?" Lucy couldn't hide her shock. "You've been to the celestial spirit world?" As far as she knew, team Natsu were the only mortals to ever visit there.

Bacchus laughed. "No. I've been to the human spirit world. When I was younger, right after I became a full fledged mage, I stole an S-Class flyer and went on an unauthorized mission."

Lucy nodded. "I did the same thing," she said softly.

Bacchus's jaw dropped. "Damn Barbie, I didn't pin you as the type of girl to break the rules."

Lucy blushed. "Well, I didn't steal the flyer. I went on the mission to back my partner up." Her, Natsu, Grey, and Erza had all made their way to Galuna Island. It was one of Lucy's first missions. "Anyway, please continue with your story."

"Oh yeah, right. Well, I went on an unauthorized mission. A book that was believed to have been written by Zeref was stolen from a wealthy merchant's collection. I tracked down the thief but he was an extremely powerful wizard. He cast a spell that filled my lungs with water. I drowned without even getting wet."

"But you survived it. Otherwise you wouldn't be here today."

He nodded in agreement. "Yes, but for a couple minutes I was technically dead. I would have remained that way if a civilian hadn't given me CPR."

"Damn," whispered Lucy.

"Yeah. But I don't regret it. It was incredible. I felt like I was connected to everything. There was no fear, no sadness." He looked down. "That experience changed my life."

They sat in silence for a few moments. Lucy was surprised that Bacchus was sharing so much information about himself. She cleared her throat and ventured another question. "What about Zeref's book. Was it ever retrieved?"

Bacchus shifted in his seat and frowned slightly. "Yes, it was eventually recovered," he said tersely.

Lucy sensed the tension so she searched for some way to change the subject but came up blank.

Bacchus sighed. "It was Laxus."

"What?"

"It was Laxus who eventually got the book back." Bacchus took another drink of wine. "He became an S-Class mage before me, even though he is a year younger than me."

"Oh."

Their conversation was interrupted by the DJs amplified voice. "Allllllll right everybody. Are you ready for some karaoke?"

The crowd clapped and there were a few hoots.

"Okay, up first we have the lovely Miss. Lilly!"

A girl with obviously died blond hair came up on the stage and sang "Like a Prayer" by Madonna. While she was singing, Bacchus made his way up to the DJ and filled out a request form. _Wow, he's actually going to sing._ Lucy had never sung in front of a group before and wasn't about to start. Bacchus came back and polished off the rest of his wine just as the girl was finishing.

Everyone clapped and the girl left the stage.

"And up next, we have the Drunk Falcon. Mr. Bacchus!" People clapped and Bacchus made his way up to the stage. It may have been Lucy's imagination but she thought he looked a little unsteady on his feet.

The music started and Lucy snorted when she recognized the song. She covered her mouth and was glad no one was close enough to hear the unladylike sound.

The smooth notes of Caribbean Queen by Billy Ocean started to play.

A snare drum beat that probably came from a keyboard filled the room. Bacchus started moving his shoulders to the classic song. His face was completely serious but his eyes showed amusement. Everyone in the bar started to clap.

And then he sang.

The palm magic user actually had a nice voice. He played to the crowd, putting a lot of expression into his movements. Whenever the chorus would sing _"and our hearts would beat as one,"_ Bacchus would put his hands over his chest and lift his fingers as if his heart were beating too strongly. During the phrase _"no more love on the run,"_ he actually broke out into the running man. It was ridiculous. Lucy laughed so hard tears pricked at her eyes.

Suddenly, an obviously drunk young lady ran up on the stage. and started to dance with Bacchus. She was cute, Lucy noticed, in a pixie-like way, with short chopped brown hair and matching large brown eyes. He obliged her and spun her around with one hand. She tried to wrap her arms around him but an angry man came and pulled her off him. _Must have been her boyfriend_, thought Lucy.

Bacchus pointed at a table of girls and they squealed. _The man is going to start a riot_, mused Lucy. Who would have guessed karaoke with Bacchus could be so fun.

He sang the last verse, making direct eye contact with Lucy.

_Caribbean Queen_

_Now we're sharing the same dream_

_And our hearts they beat as one_

_No more love on the run_

The intensity of his gaze made Lucy squirm but she clapped with the crowd when he finished. He bowed and made his way back to the bar where she was sitting.

"You sure know how to put on a show."

"Well, I have a beautiful muse by my side."

Lucy frowned and looked away. She wished Laxus were there. This was starting to feel like a date.

The girl who had danced with Bacchus wobbled over.

"Hey honey, you're cute." She wrapped her arms around his neck and slumped against him. "I haven't seen you… _hic_… around these parts before. I'm…_hic_...Winona." She was _very_ drunk.

"No, me and my date are just visiting." He wrapped his arm around Lucy and she stiffened.

Winona peered at Lucy as if she were seeing her for the first time. "Oh, hi," she mumbled. She turned back to Bacchus. "Are you gonna sing again? Do you take requests?" She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "How about, _I_ _wanna sex you up_?"

Lucy was pissed. It wasn't that she was jealous, but the girl was clearly disrespecting her. If this had been a _real_ date, she would have crossed the line.

"Geeze, could you be any more desperate?"

The girl stared at Lucy, swaying heavily on her feet. Suddenly, she reached out and shoved Lucy in the shoulder. It was surprisingly forceful.

"Hey!" Lucy shouted.

Winona reached over and pushed her again.

"What the hell's your problem?" Lucy couldn't believe how stupid she was acting.

The girl went to shove Lucy again, this time with both hands, but she tripped and fell forward. They both went tumbling to the floor. Winona starting slapping wildly at Lucy. The celestial mage didn't want to hit her so she tried to block the feeble attacks. She saw movement above them. Bacchus reached down and yanked the brunette off of her in one easy motion.

"What the fuck do you think your doing?" It was Winona's boyfriend. _Shit_.

"Your girl was getting out of line. You should take her home." Bacchus crossed his arms over his chest. He looked relaxed but Lucy could sense tension in the air.

"Oh yeah, city boy? Well this town is my home and I don't like you and that bitch showing your ugly faces around here." He motioned towards Lucy who was still on the ground.

_I am not bitch and I am NOT ugly_, she thought sourly.

"Look, we don't want any trouble. We'll find some other place to go." He reached down to help Lucy off the floor. The boyfriend moved. It looked like he was going to shove Bacchus but the palm magic user was too fast. He brought his fist around into the larger man's gut. He crumpled to the ground, making gagging noises.

Bacchus helped Lucy off the floor. "Let's get out of here." She nodded and they started to make their way towards the exit.

The man on the floor called out after them. "You'll regret that asshole."

Bacchus flipped him the bird without looking back. "Fuck off." They let the door close behind them as they left the bar.

**Luffy fan: Special thanks to randigirl for editing this chapter in just a few hours. I am heading out on vacation so there probably won't be another update for at least a week (unless I find some time).**

**Thank you to everyone for making this my most reviewed story. I have some good ideas for the next couple chapters.**


	15. Chapter 15

Lucy walked down the street briskly and Bacchus hurried to keep up. "Hey wait up," he called.

Lucy kept her head down and continued down the cobbled street. The few restaurants that had been open were closed now and there was an eerie silence around them. Bacchus's voice had seemed inappropriately loud and Lucy had almost expected to hear an echo.

The palm magic user closed the distance between them in a few long strides and grabbed her arm. Lucy spun around and fought the urge to slap his hand away. The stellar mage was tired and the fight at the bar had tested her last nerve.

"Hey, are you mad or something?" Bacchus lowered his voice and searched Lucy's face.

She sighed and her shoulders dropped. "No, I'm not mad. At least, not at you... surprisingly."

Bacchus fought back a grin. This sounded like progress.

"I'm just trying to put some distance between us and the bar." She looked up at Bacchus and tried to put as much emotion and honesty in her next sentence. "Look, I'm really tired. I spent half the day in a drugged up stupor. Can we just call it a night?"

Bacchus's eye twitched and he looked down at his hands. The silence between them grew and Lucy started to feel uncomfortable. She was about to speak when Bacchus found his voice. "That would be fine. Let's go look for an inn."

Lucy stiffened and Bacchus glowered. "Damn it woman, we can get separate rooms." He turned around and started back down the street. "You know, you can be a real judgmental pain-in-the-ass sometimes. Did anyone ever tell you that?"

Lucy flushed but decided to not respond. She didn't want to get into a shouting match and wake up the townspeople.

They walked in silence. Building after building was dark. "This is hopeless," she groaned.

There was a high-pitched whine behind them. Lucy looked back and saw a large dog huddled in the shadows. It appeared to be a husky mix with beautiful black and white fur. The dog whined again and licked its front paw.

"Oh, I think he's hurt," Lucy whispered. She started to walk towards the sad-looking animal but Bacchus stopped her.

"Wait, something's not right about this."

Lucy blinked up at him, confused. "What?"

"I sense magic coming from that direction. I don't think that dog is what it appears to be."

Lucy reached out with her sixth sense and gasped. "You're right. I didn't notice it before but there is definitely a magical presence there." She reached for her keys. "We have someone in our guild who can partially transform into animals. I'll bet you ten-thousand jewels that this is a mage who can fully transform."

Bacchus took Lucy's hands in both of his and kissed them. The gesture was too unexpected for Lucy to react. "Don't worry about a thing. I'll take care of this."

Lucy opened her mouth to protest. She was a proud member of Fairy Tail and it wasn't her style to sit back and let other's do the dirty work. Well, maybe if it was really cold or muddy, but other than that she was a total team player.

Bacchus silenced here by putting a finger on her lips. "Hush now. What kind of man would I be if I let my date be threatened?" The tone of his voice made it clear that he thought she should be honored to have such a hero looking out for her safety.

Lucy gaped. _He had just hushed her! AND, he was SERIOUS._

Bacchus stepped in front of her and pushed up his sleeves and glared. "Okay you magey dog. Why don't you transform? I actually like dogs and will feel kind of bad for kicking your ass in this form." He turned to Lucy. "Did you see what I did there? It was a play on words. I said magey, instead of mangy."

_Holy shit balls_, _he's crazy_.

She pulled out her whip and resisted the urge to beat Bacchus with it. The pervert would probably like it anyways.

The dog snarled at them and hunched over. The air around the animal shimmered and things beneath its skin started to move. It was grotesque. The scene reminded Lucy of a movie she had once seen where an alien had ripped its way out of a victim's stomach.

Fur rolled back, revealing smooth skin and four human limbs.

"Oh man, not you again!" Lucy exclaimed. Winona's boyfriend was standing far enough back that he didn't poise an immediate threat. His arms were crossed in front of his broad chest and his mouth was twisted in a snarl similar to the one the dog had worn earlier.

"Hey bitch." The man's voice was flat. It sent a shiver down Lucy's spine.

Bacchus laughed. Lucy shot him a dirty look but the palm magic user ignored her. "Man, you just can't get enough, can you? It looks like that little beat down at the bar didn't quite get my point across."

Lucy heard something rustle and she saw movement in the corner of her eye. Bacchus continued taunting. "So, I guess you've come back for seconds. Man, you sure are dumb. People like you are the reason why they put instructions on shampoo bottles."

"Uhh, Bacchus…" Lucy muttered under her breath. Another figure darted behind a dumpster just twenty feet away.

"Not now sweetheart, I'm on a roll." He grinned and winked at her before turning back to the shape-shifting man. "So, what's your name anyways? Fido?"

The thug grunted and a slow sneer spread across his lips. "Razorback." He shifted and stood up straighter.

Bacchus's eyebrows lifted. "Razorback, of the Steelclaw Pack?"

"The one and only." The muscles in his arms flexed and twisted beneath his skin. It gave the shape-shifter the appearance of movement but he hadn't tried to get any closer to Lucy or Bacchus since changing back to his human form. Lucy tried not to stare at him but it was difficult. His eyes had remained wolf-yellow and were almost hypnotic.

"So, Mr. Razorback, was there a reason why you were following us? Did you want an autograph perhaps?" Bacchus peered at him innocently.

Razorback growled and his skin began to ripple. It was like watching a train wreck. Lucy didn't want to watch but she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. Fur unfolded from within him and started to cover his body. She was jarred out of her stupor when Bacchus flung her to the side.

"Damnit, watch-out Lucy!" He brought his fist down into a blur of brown fur where Lucy had been standing just seconds before. He spun around just in time to punch a black and white dog that was leaping towards them. _It looks like Razorback's joined in the fight_, Lucy thought. The stellar mage rolled to the side and quickly jumped up, pulling her whip free. She saw another brown wolf charging towards them and struck it with the leather cord. There was a loud _crack_, and the animal crumpled to the ground.

She turned and saw Bacchus gaping at her.

"What?" she asked, slightly annoyed.

"Nothing… it's just… nothing. Damn."

Lucy blushed and turned to survey the scene. Crap. There had to be more than a dozen dogs circling them.

"Open, celestial gate of Capr.." Lucy cut her summons short as she ducked to avoid a wolf that was hurtling through the air. "Hey watch it!"

Bacchus was in his element, using his martial art skills to meet the challenge. Lucy watched as legs and arms swung in graceful arcs before connecting with fur. Canines would pounce at him, only to be sent flying back.

He finished an impressive roundhouse kick and leapt through the air towards Lucy. Before she knew what was happening, Bacchus was behind her with his arms around her waist. He whispered in her ear. "I think I was made for this." His grip around her tightened and he spoke again. "We make a pretty good team, don't you think?" He lifted her up and spun her. Without even realizing it, Lucy's legs kicked out and connected with a snarling muzzle.

The dog yelped and cowered back. Bacchus set her down and continued his assault on the remaining dogs. They seemed to be retreating so Lucy let her self relax a little. She decided to find a safe place to rest while the Bacchus finished the fight. She looked across the street and froze. There, standing in the shadows, was Laxus.

**Luffy fan: Hey ho! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I haven't written in awhile and my confidence is lower than usual on this chapter…**


	16. Chapter 16

"Laxus!" Lucy grinned and ran towards the shadows. He stood, motionless. As she approached she saw his expression and slowed to a stop a couple feet away. "Um, Laxus?"

His eyes flicked towards her and then back to Bacchus. She didn't like what she saw. Something about Laxus's expression scared the crap out of her. "Laxus? Sweetie?"

He turned back towards her and blinked a couple times. "Lucy, oh thank god." He wrapped his arms around her and she let herself sink into his chest. The front of his shirt was wet and he smelled like he had bathed in garbage but Lucy couldn't get enough of the warm embrace.

"How'd you find us? We must be a hundred miles from Magnolia."

Laxus strummed her hair, soothing her. She bit her lip and fought back tears as Laxus spoke. "The little weasel sucker-punched me." He paused. Lucy couldn't see Laxus's face but she could imagine the snarl that was there. "I was disoriented or a minute but I got back up in time to see the little shit running towards the train station. I managed to get on right before the train left."

"You did? Why didn't we see you?" Lucy pried herself away from his chest and studied his face. He looked… different.

"Are you blushing?" She had never seen Laxus look embarrassed before.

He grumbled and rubbed his jaw. "I wasn't able to search the train. Look, it's not a big deal. It's a dragon slayer thing."

Lucy's eyes widened. "Oh yeah! Motion sickness. I forgot. Natsu gets that all the time." She looked back at his moist shirt. "Oh crap, were you sick? Is that what I smell?"

"I didn't puke _on_ myself, if that's what you're asking." The lightning mage tugged on the bottom of his shirt. "Anyway, enough about me, what about you? Are you okay?"

Laxus looked her up and down critically.

"What, don't you think I can handle myself?" She put her hands on her hips and struck a pose, trying to lighten the situation.

Laxus finished his inspection. "This isn't funny Lucy." He looked over at Bacchus who was still fighting the pack of weredogs. The palm magic user hadn't noticed them yet. "Wait here," Laxus ordered.

"Laxus, please don't. Nothing happened."

Laxus's jaw clinched. "This doesn't look like nothing. It looks like you are in danger."

"I'm not in danger, I'm okay. Bacchus is protecting me, see." She gestured towards the dark haired mage, who was still striking fierce blows.

"PROTECTING YOU?" Laxus's voice boomed. The dogs stopped fighting and looked towards the shouting. The mutts closest to them whimpered and backed away with their heads low.

The commotion had finally gotten Bacchus's attention. "Ah, I can see that Ken has found his way back to Barbie." He stared at Lucy intently as he spoke. She looked away, uncomfortable under his gaze and pulled on Laxus's sleeve. "Let's just find an inn and get some sleep. I'm exhausted." She started to pull her fuming boyfriend away.

Bacchus shrugged. "Ah shucks, women are just so darn fickle." He flashed teeth at Laxus. "That was _our_ plan just a couple minutes ago. Well, the part about me and Barbie getting an inn, but I wasn't really planning on any sleep."

It was the final straw.

Laxus launched himself at Bacchus and they tumbled to the ground. Several of the dogs around them started to howl and yip in excitement. Lucy tried to get near them to break the fight up but she felt an intense pain just above her ankle. She looked down and saw a huge dog with its muzzle clamped around her. She tried to pull away and felt her skin begin to rip. She briefly thought to herself, _this is the most pain I have ever felt,_ until the dog started to shake his head back and forth. _No, THIS is the most pain I have ever felt._

She pulled back her other leg and kicked it hard in the face. The dog fell back, but not before taking a chunk of her flesh with it.

_I'm not going to look. I'm not going to look._

The dog she had just kicked had shaken the blow off and was readying itself for another attack. She heard another growl behind her and prayed that she had enough time to do what she had to.

_My boyfriend won't help me. My kidnapper won't help me. I've got to do this myself._

She pulled out her key. "Open, Celestial gate of Capricorn."

**Luffy fan: Thanks for the reviews. Keep em coming.**


	17. Chapter 17

Capricorn appeared, wearing his usual black suit and sunglasses.

He turned to formally address Lucy. "Mistress Lucy, it is a pleasure to have been summoned. How may I assist you?"

"Behind you!" she squeaked, pointing frantically.

Capricorn turned in time to see a dog lunging at him. He reacted quickly and landed a karate chop to the beast's neck. The dog fell motionless to the ground. Lucy forced herself to stand up, wincing at the pain in her leg. More dogs were circling them and despite Capricorn's expertise in hand-to-hand combat, she new he would need her help.

"Open, the celestial gate of the Lion."

There was a flash of light and Loke was standing with them. Summoning two celestial spirits at once had drained most of Lucy's magic. She swayed slightly and tried not to think about her leg.

Capricorn and Loke began to fight the remaining dogs. She looked over at Bacchus and Laxus. They were still rolling on the ground, exchanging blows. It was starting to make her mad. She had been severely injured and neither of them had even noticed. Occasionally a dog would pounce on them, only to be electrocuted or beaten.

A low growl snapped her back to attention. She turned and saw a huge tiger mauling Capricorn.

"Capricorn!" she screamed. She ran towards the gruesome scene.

Blazing light shot through the air and hit the tiger. It was Loke's Regulus attack. The Tiger flew back, taking out a small tree in the process. When he hit the ground, his fur began to move and he shifted back into a man.

It was the pack leader, Razorback.

"Oh my god, Ray, are you alright?" Another one of the dogs had shifted back into human form and was crouching next to the injured man.

"Winona," she muttered. The petite brunette was close to tears as she fussed over her fallen leader. Lucy felt little sympathy for her. Winona's piece of crap boyfriend had been trying to make a meal out of one of her spirits.

Lucy and Loke ran to where Capricorn was laying. All of the other dogs had taken off once they had seen their pack leader go down.

"Are you okay?" Lucy knelt next to the goat spirit and took his hand.

He coughed. "It hurts but I'll be okay. With your permission, I'd like to return to the spirit world so that I can heal."

"Of course," Lucy nodded in agreement and the spirit vanished.

Loke was frowning down at her.

"Lucy, you're injured."

Now that the fighting was over, Lucy forced herself to look at the injury to her leg. The bite mark went halfway around her leg and she could actually see where the individual teeth had been. Too bad Wendy wasn't around; her healing magic would have been much appreciated.

"We need to get that cleaned right away. There were probably all sorts of bacteria in that guy's mouth." Loke looked over at Razorback and clenched his fists. "Who is that guy, anyways?"

Lucy sighed. "It's a long story."

Loke looked over at Laxus and Bacchus who had just finished fighting. Laxus was standing up but Bacchus stayed on the ground.

"Are you on a mission with Laxus?"

_Loke must not know that I am dating Laxus,_ thought Lucy. "It's a very long story." She didn't feel like explaining everything that had happened in the last couple days.

Laxus was making his way towards her and Lucy felt herself getting mad again. It didn't help that Bacchus wasn't moving. She wanted to be mad at him too, but that wouldn't work if he was dead.

"Why did you summon Loke?" Laxus had reached them. His clothes were filthy from rolling around on the ground and it looked like a black eye was beginning to form.

_So Bacchus managed to get a couple licks in, eh?_ Lucy felt a small amount of evil vindication. "I summoned Loke because I didn't want to end up as doggy chow."

There was a groan and Bacchus rolled over. Lucy remained expressionless but was glad that Bacchus was moving. Laxus looked around, taking in the scene of the battle. His eyes stopped on Lucy's bite mark.

"Damn Lucy, your leg is torn up."

"Damn Laxus, I know."

Loke was eyeing Laxus and Lucy. "Is something going on between you two?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes," said Laxus. Lucy simultaneously blurted out a firm "No".

Laxus's jaw dropped. "Why are you telling him, no?"

"Because I don't think I want to be your girlfriend anymore." Lucy crossed her hands over her chest. It occurred to her that things had happened so quickly between them that she wasn't even sure if she had reached girlfriend status. She supposed it didn't really matter.

"Come on Loke, let's get out of here." She tried her best to stomp away but her leg hurt too bad so she had to settle for angry hobbling. It would have been better if Loke had helped her but it was hard to make a scene if you were being carried. And she _wanted_ to make a scene.

Loke caught up with Lucy and walked beside her in silence. Normally, he would take the opportunity to try and woo the beautiful blond but she didn't seem to be in the mood for flirting tonight. They found an inn and booked a room. Lucy flopped on the bed and Loke filled the ice bucket with water. He took two little bottles of vodka from the mini-fridge.

"This is going to hurt but I need to disinfect the wound. Lucy nodded numbly, not moving. A little pain seemed like nothing after everything she had gone through that night.

Loke got to work cleaning out the wound. Tears began to fall down Lucy's cheeks. The tears weren't from the pain of the disinfectant; they were from the pain in her heart. She was starting to regret breaking up with Laxus.

_But he didn't even act like he cared about me. He was too wrapped up in beating Bacchus to a pulp. _Lucy sniffled. _It was his fault I got in this mess in the first place._

Loke finished cleaning the wound and lay down next to Lucy.

"Why are you crying?" He brushed the tears from her cheek with his thumb.

"Laxus is a big jerk."

"Well, that isn't anything new."

Lucy laughed, a snot-filled laugh, despite herself. "Well, the last couple days were different. I thought he had changed." Another tear fell as she finished speaking.

"Hey, it's okay. He doesn't deserve you."

"How can you say that? You don't even know everything that happened."

"Because any guy who will make my girl cry isn't worth shit." Loke sat up and pulled Lucy's head into his lap. He stroked her hair for a couple minutes. "What was the drunk falcon doing there?"

"You know Bacchus?"

"A little."

"He won some bet with Laxus and thought he would get to spend the night with me."

Loke stopped stroking her hair. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't all that bad. He made me a sandwich. And he sang karaoke."

Loke chuckled. "You've had quite a night, Lucy Heartfilla."

"Tell me about it."


	18. Chapter 18

Lucy slept the rest of the night and through most of the morning. She woke up feeling refreshed.

"Good morning," she mumbled when she awoke and saw her friend sitting next to her. Loke was reading a magazine and sipping a hot beverage.

"Morning gorgeous."

Lucy smiled and got up to take a quick shower. She was anxious to get home but a shower was cruical given the all the physical activity of the previous night. Most of her magic power had regenerated so she summoned Virgo for a fresh change of clothes. The outfit the celestial maid had picked out was super cute which improved Lucy's mood further.

By the time Loke and Lucy made their way to the train station, Lucy felt like things were starting to return to normal and even smiled when Loke tried a corny pick up line.

"Wait here, I'll go get my ticket for the train ride home," Lucy suggested to her friend. They had decided to save money and only purchase one ticket. Loke would return to the celestial world once she got on the train. Besides, if she really needed someone to talk to, she could always summon him back. She walked into the station.

Sitting on a bench, was Laxus. It looked like he hadn't slept. Lucy paused when she saw him and thought about turning around to leave but the lightning mage had already spotted her.

She stood as he approached, waiting while her stomach did enough flips to qualify for the Olympic gymnastics team.

"Hey," Laxus mumbled.

"Hey," she mumbled back.

He ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I'm really sorry about last night. Things kind of got out of hand with Bacchus. I'm shouldn't have left you to fight that pack of shape shifters by yourself."

Lucy looked down at her feet. She had only been apart from Laxus for half a day and she already missed him. She chewed her lip and thought.

"Lucy, is everything okay here?" Loke came up from behind and put his arm around her shoulder.

Laxus's expression darkened. "Get your hands off her."

"Or what?"

Laxus grabbed the front of Loke's shirt and pulled him close. "Or I'll make you." He released Loke with a small push that was begging for a fight.

"Damnit Laxus, this is the problem."

"What?"

"You keep throwing your muscle around. You don't think things through."

"What's there to think about? What's he still doing here anyways? Did he spend the night with you?"

"Not in a romantic way if that's what you're implying."

Laxus's cheeks flushed with anger. "So he _did_ spend the night with you."

"Nothing happened!"

Laxus kicked out, knocking a bench over. "First Bacchus, and now Loke. You've been busy this weekend."

Lucy reached up to slap him but years of training had given Laxus excellent reflexes. He caught her hand before she could wipe the sneer off his face.

Lucy pulled her hand back and marched up to the ticket counter. "One ticket for Magnolia, please." The cashier hastily rang her up. Lucy's fingers trembled as she handed the teller her jewels.

By the time Lucy had completed her purchase, Laxus was gone. She felt both relieved, and sad.

Loke came up to her and gave her shoulder a squeeze. Without warning, she felt tears start to well up.

"Aw, Lucy, I hate to leave you like this. Please summon me once you get on the train."

Lucy sniffed. "No, its fine. I think I want to be alone for a little while."

"I shouldn't have interrupted you two. I was just worried when I saw him talking to you."

"It's not your fault. He shouldn't have acted like that."

The celestial spirit consoled her a bit longer, and then hugged here when it was time to board the train.

"Thanks Loke, you're a good friend."

"No problem Lucy. And for the record, I consider you more than just a good friend." He winked at her and disappeared.

Lucy was glad Laxus wasn't around to hear the last thing Loke said. It probably would have started another fight.

She got on the train and found an empty car. _Good, I won't have to deal with anyone until I get home. _She sat down and closed her eyes, trying not to think too much about the unpleasant exchange with Laxus.

"Damn, are you trying to get me killed?"

She opened her eyes. "Bacchus?"

The palm magic user looked bad. Really bad. His face was dotted with bruises and his lower lip was swollen.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"Are you trying to get me killed? If Laxus sees me near you he's likely to go ape shit again."

Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't think that will be a problem." She stared at him, daring him to challenge her further.

Bacchus took in her posture. "So, I heard correctly afterall. You two _are_ finished." He grinned, revealing a missing front tooth.

"Don't get all cocky. It had nothing to do with you."

He glanced around and took the seat across from her. "Really now?"

"Yes, really."

"Well, if you change your mind…" Bacchus pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Lucy looked down.

_Bacchus_

_Certified S-Class Mage_

_Available for Hire_

_Call 555-5555 for Rates_

"Ew, you can't be serious. A business card?" Lucy went to hand the card back but Bacchus was leaving the train car. Lucy called after him. "Don't be expecting a phone call."

Bacchus waved without looking back. "Just think about it. I know some great Karaoke bars in Magnolia."

**Luffy fan: Thanks for the reviews. I will be coming up on 200 soon. I'm itching to start another story but I really want to finish this one up first. There are at least a couple more chapters still to come. **

**I've managed to write at least a little every day for the last three days. I'll see if I can keep it up.**

**I have started a writing contest in the forums. Everyone is welcome to join so please stop by and sign up!**

myforums/luffy-fan/2620893/


	19. Chapter 19

The train arrived in Magnolia and Lucy was back in her apartment 20 minutes later. She cleaned her wound and then started cleaning her apartment. After she had reorganized her cupboards, mopped the floors, cleaned the bathrooms, and then re-reorganized the cupboards she finally decided to take a break and sit down with her thoughts.

She played-back the events of the last couple days, focusing on Laxus. She remembered how fun it was dancing with him, how he had kissed her on the balcony, their intimate night together… Just thinking about it made her cheeks flush.

Lucy pulled out a pen and paper. _I'll make a list of pros and cons for dating Laxus. _She started to write.

_Cons_

_He's arrogant. He made a bet with Bacchus that could have…_

Lucy thought a moment. She was tempted to write, "gotten me raped" but she knew that wasn't true. Bacchus talked a big game but she felt a firm "no" would have been enough to deter him. Lucy thought a little more and decided to rewrite the sentence.

_He's arrogant. He made a stupid bet with Bacchus that put me in a bad position._

There. That much was certainly true.

She went back to the cons.

_He's violent. He was more concerned with beating Bacchus to a pulp than my feelings or safety._

Of course, Laxus had beaten up Bacchus because he had kidnapped her. From Laxus's point of view, it was probably reasonable to clobber someone who had kidnapped his girlfriend.

Lucy twirled her pen and chewed on her lower lip.

_He's rude. He implied that I had been "busy" with Bacchus and Loke._

The nerve of him. It wasn't her fault she had been kidnapped by Bacchus. And Loke might be a flirt but they were just friends.

_You spent the whole night with two men who openly pursued you_, a little voice whispered inside her head.

"Damn," she muttered out loud.

She continued writing.

_Pros_

_He's a good dancer._

_He's protective._

_Maybe a little too protective, but there are some benefits so I'll count it, _she reasoned_._

And of course, she had to add one more.

_He has a smoking hot body._

"Hey Lucy!"

"Nnnngggh!" Lucy screamed.

She turned around a saw her best friend, Natsu standing over her. She quickly took the paper and shoved it into her desk. "Don't sneak up on me!" she scolded.

The Salamander laughed and ruffled her hair. "What were you writing? Is it a new novel?"

"Uh, yeah something like that." She fought to change the subject. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"Oh yeah!" Natsu brightened. "I found the perfect job for us. The city wants to build a tunnel. If you summon Virgo, the mission will be a piece of cake." His grin widened. "It pays 200,000 jewels."

"Holy glistening jewels, Natsu! When's the job start?"

"We have to leave today. I tried to tell you about it earlier this week but I couldn't get into your apartment. I think someone set protective runes around it." Natsu gave Lucy a quizzical look.

Lucy grimaced. Laxus had probably asked Freed to set the runes so that he and Lucy wouldn't be interrupted by the dragon slayer. God, that would have been embarrassing.

"Great, let's get going."

The job was for Clover Town, which was in the northern part of Fiore. They would have to make the journey by foot since Natsu had extreme motion sickness. Clover town was also conveniently two days south of Lupus Run. If Laxus was making his way back to Magnolia, there was a chance he might rest in Clover Town. It wasn't likely, but Lucy packed an extra short skirt and one of her favorite tops for the trip, just in case. If Laxus just _happened_ to be there, and he _happened_ to see her and she was too cute to resist… well, maybe she could forgive him if he asked nicely enough.

Luffy fan: My apologies for another short chapter. I am trying to start a writing contest forum. If you are interested please stop by and sign up. Thanks!

myforums/luffy-fan/2620893/


	20. Chapter 20

Two days later, Lucy and Natsu arrived in Clover Town. The trip had been mostly uneventful. Lucy had filled Natsu in on her brief, but emotional relationship with Laxus. She was careful not to go into too many details, particularly about their physical relationship since Natsu would probably think that stuff was gross. Her pink-haired friend had been uncharacteristically quite, which Lucy considered a good thing. It gave her a chance to discuss her feelings out loud and clear her mind.

Lucy took in the beautiful colonial-style house as they made their way to the address listed on the mission flyer.

"Oh, does a city official live here?" she asked.

Natsu shrugged and knocked on the door. "The flyer doesn't say."

"Ho ho ho!" A man dressed head-to-toe in hideous plaid opened the door. "You must be the mages here for the job, welcome!"

Lucy shook his hand and introduced herself and Natsu. The man in the awful suit turned out to be the Mayor of the town. He explained that he wanted Lucy and Natsu to build a tunnel between the colonial home and the government building on the other side of the street. Both buildings were owned by the town. During the Mayor's term, he lived in the home and worked across the street at City Hall.

"The tunnel will add extra security in case the town is ever attacked." The older man cupped a hand around his mouth a whispered conspiratorially to the mages. "And people won't be able to see if I come home for a quick afternoon nap."

"Don't worry Sir; you will be able to travel in secrecy once we're done."

"Ho ho ho! That's excellent news! I will leave you two to your work."

Lucy summoned Virgo after the Mayor had left. The Spirit appeared, wearing her typical maid's uniform and broken chains. "Does Princess require my assistance?"

"Yes, thanks Virgo." Lucy began to explain the job to her. For the first few minutes, Natsu followed the two women around as they mapped out tunnel's path and tested the soil, but it wasn't long before he was bored.

"This job is _too_ easy. You don't need me," he grumbled.

Lucy gave him a sympathetic smile. "Well, it's nice that I get to take the lead on a job every once in awhile."

"Do you mind if I go find something to eat?"

"Sure, I think we'll be okay without you."

Natsu walked off towards the town's shops and restaurants.

After Lucy and Virgo had completed surveying the area, Virgo began to dig. She drilled slower than normal so Lucy could map out her progress and make sure she stayed on course. The spirit had created many tunnels, but they had never been constructed for frequent use.

By midday and they had made good progress. Lucy estimated that they were more than halfway done. The sun was beating down so the celestial mage decided to take a quick water break. As she reached for her bottled water, she caught a glimpse of bulging muscle and blonde hair. Laxus was standing outside one of the restaurants, reading a display menu.

_Damn, he's here, and earlier than I expected._

From Lucy's estimations, Laxus shouldn't have arrived in Clover town until nightfall, _if _he was going to arrive at all. Lucy hadn't had a chance to check into an inn and freshen up. She was sweating and a thin layer of dust covered her skin. Laxus started to turn towards her and she ducked behind a bush. She waited a few minutes before venturing a peek.

He was gone. Lucy let out a sigh of relief.

"Did you lose a contact or something?"

Lucy dusted off her hands and turned around slowly. "No, I was just checking the soil here. We're building a tunnel for a client." Her voice was so calm, she even impressed herself.

"Sure you were." Laxus crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at her. She found it very irritating.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

Laxus's smile faltered a little. "No." He stared at her. Lucy didn't know what to say so she took a sip of her water and pretended to be interested in the dust cloud that was billowing out of the tunnel's entrance.

Laxus scowled. "Did you come here to talk to me?"

"No, I'm here for job. Like I said, we are building a tunnel for a client."

Laxus continued to stare at her. Finally, he threw his hands in the air and started to walk away. "I give up."

"Wait!"

Laxus turned around.

"Was there something you wanted to say to me?" She raised her eyes to him and gave him her most pleading look.

"I've already apologized once, if that is what you are fishing for."

"Yeah, but then you immediately turned around and tried to start a fight with Loke!"

"He had his arm around you! You need to set some boundaries with that guy. He used to chase a different girl every week before you joined the guild."

"Maybe he was just concerned because one of those mutts had used my leg as a chew toy."

The anger drained away from Laxus's face and he looked down at her leg, still bandaged. "I didn't see your wound until you were walking away."

Lucy felt her anger lessen also. "I know. You would have tried to help if you had seen what was happening to me." She gave him a small smile and he smiled back.

Their moment was interrupted by a loud crash. One of the grand columns of City Hall was crumbling to the ground.

"Oh crap, I forgot to watch Virgo!" Lucy ran towards the debris. "Virgo! Virgo! Stop tunneling!"

The pink-haired maid popped her head out of a hole next to the collapsed column. "Is there a problem Princess?"

"Yes, you tunneled too far. City Hall is falling down!"

**Luffy fan: Hi all! I hope you all enjoy the small Laxus and Lucy moment! Please sign up for the writing contest in the forums. I've only got a few people to sign up so far. It will be really fun! **

myforums/luffy-fan/2620893/


	21. Chapter 21

A cloud of dust was settling and Lucy could see a pile of rubble that had once been a marble column. She heard someone chuckling and turned around.

Laxus was standing there—clutching his stomach and shaking with laughter. "You can call yourself a true Fairy Tail wizard now," he said between gulps of air. "You've finally destroyed a building."

How could he think this was funny? She fumed silently. It would cost a ton of money to fix the damage and a small crowd was beginning to form, adding to her embarrassment. A slow flush began to creep into her cheeks.

A man in an ugly plaid suit was running towards her. It was the Mayor and he looked mad. Excuses and wild thoughts began to fill her mind. Maybe she could blame the incident on an earthquake, or an evil curse? The Mayor had almost reached her when Laxus stepped in front of her.

He cleared his throat and the Mayor stopped running. "Kind Sir, are you the proprietor of this establishment?" asked Laxus. Lucy gaped at him. She had never heard Laxus sound so curteous and professional. It appeared that Laxus had some experience in dealing with unhappy customers.

The Mayor glanced at Laxus, taking him in. "Who are you?" he asked.

Laxus held out his hand. "Laxus Dreyer. The grandson of Fairy Tail's master, Makarov Dreyer." The Mayor shook his hand, although he was clearly confused. Laxus continued, undaunted. "I saw what happened here and I extend my deepest apologies. The damage done to your building is an outrage and you should be compensated for the repairs."

"I'll say," agreed the Mayor. He scowled at Lucy, making her blush deepen. "What kind of wizards does your Guild employ? This woman nearly brought down the entire building. She should be fired immediately."

Laxus's eyebrows creased and Lucy heard the buzz of electricity in the air. She looked down at his hands and saw traces of electric current dance across his fingers.

The Mayor seemed to realize his comments had pushed Laxus too far. "Although, I trust your judgment on how to best reprimand your employees," he added quickly.

Laxus relaxed and flashed the Mayor a charming smile. "Of course, I will see that she is appropriately _punished_." His voice dropped to a sinister tone when he spoke the last word. Laxus was clearly planning something and Lucy didn't really want to know what it was. It seemed like he was almost enjoying himself. She covered her face with her hands, and wished she could shrink.

Laxus walked over to the tunnel and examined the hole that Virgo had just created. "On a positive note, it looks like the tunnel is complete," he said. "The fee for the tunnel should be subtracted from the repair costs for the column."

"Absolutely not!" exclaimed the Mayor. "This woman has caused a scene, you are lucky I'm not suing your Guild."

New trails of electric current danced across Laxus's chest and his face went slack. The Mayor's eyes widened and he stammered. "W-well maybe we can work something out. You seem like a reasonable fellow. The cost of repairs minus the fee for the tunnel does sound pretty reasonable now that I think about it."

Laxus smiled and clapped a large hand on the Mayor's back, nearly making the small man fall over. "I'm glad we could reach an agreement," Laxus said. He nudged Lucy in the ribs. "Lucy, don't you have something to say?"

God, he sounded like her father. Lucy swallowed her embarrassment. "I'm very sorry for the trouble I've caused you Sir," she squeaked.

The Mayor grunted. He and Laxus discussed a few more minor details and before she knew it, the fiasco was over. The Mayor walked away and Lucy turned to do likewise.

"Hey, wait up." Laxus grabbed her arm, but she pulled it back. Tears began to well and she walked faster.

"Lucy!" Laxus called after her and jogged to catch up. "Lucy, what's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk right now. I've just lost a week's worth of income and was reprimanded in front of half a town."

Laxus jumped in front of her, blocking her. She was forced to stop and look at him. "Hey, it's okay. It's only money," he said, pulling her into an embrace. "At least nobody was hurt, right?"

She let him hold her. It felt like it had been ages since they had last had contact with one another, and Lucy was realizing how much she missed the feeling. She rubbed her cheek across his chest, enjoying the feel of the warm skin beneath his cotton shirt. "I'm really sorry I was so mad at you," she whispered.

He exhaled deeply and slouched slightly, as if he had been tense. "I'm sorry too. I've missed you."

"Get the fuck off of her!"

Laxus turned to see who was screaming and was immediately hit in the face with a fiery fist.

"Natsu!" exclaimed Lucy.

Her pink-haired friend was breathing hard, glaring at Laxus. His fists were raised in a boxer's stance, ready for another attack.

Laxus spat out a wad of blood and slowly rubbed his chin, assessing the impact of the blow. "That was a cheap shot," he said, moving in front of Lucy. The lightning mage was positioning himself for a fight, although Lucy was a little surprised that he hadn't immediately hauled off and hit Natsu back.

"What are you doing to Lucy? Why is she crying?" Natsu demanded.

Laxus snorted. "I was just trying to make her feel better. She fucked up your team's mission and is feeling shitty." Lucy didn't like hearing that she had _fucked up_ the mission, but Laxus was clearly agitated so she let it slide.

Natsu looked towards the building and finally notice the fallen column. "Luce—you did that?" he asked. The suprise in his voice annoyed her. Lucy had seen her partner destroy at least four buildings, one of which had been her childhood home. Why was he so shocked over one little column.

She felt heat creep back into her cheeks. "Well, it wasn't me _exactly_. Virgo got a little carried away while she was tunneling."

Natsu relaxed from his fighting stance. "But that doesn't explain why _he's_ here." He waved a hand at Laxus and didn't bother to hide the disgust in his voice.

Natsu's anger was unusual. He had always been fond of Laxus— even when the lightning mage had decided to sort out the weaker members of the Guild, Natsu had believed in Laxus's character. Now, he looked like he wanted to pummel the guy.

"Natsu, don't be so angry," she said, trying to console him.

"Come on, Luce—". He lifted her arm, trying to lead her away. "For better or worse, the mission is complete. We don't need to stay around here anymore."

Laxus took Lucy's other arm, making her hang between the two men.

"I want to talk to Lucy," Laxus said coolly.

"Too bad," said Natsu. Flames wrapped around his balled up first.

"Both of you need to let me go," Lucy snapped. "You're going to dislocate my shoulder if you keep pulling like that."

Natsu and Laxus looked at each other and then dropped her arms at the same time. Lucy stepped back, not wanting to get into another tug of war. She didn't know how to fix the issue between them but she decided to try appealing to Natsu first.

"Natsu, I appreciate you're concern—" she started.

He glared at her with enough anger to make her stop short. "You're kidding me, right? You can't seriously be considering getting back together with him, are you?"

Lucy's jaw dropped. Natsu had never been angry with her, much less spoken to her like this. She was too shocked to respond.

"Stop yelling at her. If we get back together, that's our business, not yours," Laxus said.

Natsu threw another fist at Laxus, but the lightning mage was prepared this time. He easily dodged it and threw his own punch, connecting with Natsu's gut. The Salamander crumpled to the ground.

"Oh God, Natsu!" Lucy fell to her knees beside her fallen friend. She put an arm on his shoulder but he shrugged it off and staggered back up to his feet.

"I can't watch you put yourself through this again. If you want to be with this creep, fine. I won't stop you. But don't come crying back to me again when he hurts you again." Natsu turned and stomped away, leaving Lucy speechless.

Laxus helped her back up. "Are you okay? He shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"What? What was he taking out on me?" she asked. She looked up at Laxus, hoping he could make sense of what had just happened. It felt like she was going to start crying again.

"Natsu's just got a lot of mixed up emotions right now. I think he's having trouble expressing himself." He gave her a weak smile. "Don't worry. I don't think he'll stay mad at you for long."

Lucy blinked back tears. She had already cried once that day and she didn't want Laxus to start thinking she was an emotional basket-case.

"Okay, but I should go after him and try to talk," she said.

"I'd give him some time to cool off. If you chase after him now, he's likely to still be mad and you two will have another fight."

Lucy chewed her lip a moment. "I guess your right." She changed the subject. "You didn't have to hit him so hard."

Laxus gave her a worried glance. "I tried to hold back. But he started it. You're not mad, are you?"

That was different. "No, I'm not mad," she said. "Just tired."

He put his arm around her and they started walking down the town's street. "How about we get an early dinner? It will be my treat."

**Luffy fan: Thanks for reading. I had to completely re-write this chapter because I didn't like my first take on it. I hope you all enjoyed it. Reminder—It's not too late to sign up for the writing challenge in the forums. We have a couple folks and are just getting started.**


	22. Chapter 22

Lucy and Laxus settled on a small pub for dinner. Given Lucy's grimy appearance, something dark and casual was a necessity.

When they were seated, Laxus squeezed Lucy's hand. "You should let me take you out somewhere nice when we get back to Magnolia," he suggested.

Lucy smiled at him. The extra effort was appreciated. "That would be great, but you don't have to take me some place fancy. Restaurants like this are fine."

The waitress came to take their order. Lucy chose a Cobb salad and Laxus ordered the roast beef sandwich. For drinks, they both ordered a pint of the house ale.

"So—," said Laxus, when the waitress had left. "The last time we were on a date, we were in a pub like this." His voice was casual, but he tapped his foot anxiously.

Lucy nodded, thinking back to the night they had broken up. "Yeah, hopefully this evening will turn out better," she said with a weak laugh.

Laxus stood up and moved to sit next to her in the booth. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his head against hers. "I'm sorry I put you through all that. I was so worried about you."

His breath tickled her neck and she squirmed away. It was private in the booth but a few other customers had glanced in their direction. "It's okay. You don't have to apologize any more," she said.

The waitress came with their drink order. When she was gone, Laxus put on hand on Lucy's knee. "I need to find some way to keep you out of trouble," he said.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I almost never get into trouble," she said sardonically.

"Yeah right. I think I've had about two heart attacks and three aneurisms since we've started dating." His hand trailed a few inches higher. "You're not trying to kill me, are you?" With his other hand, he took a sip of beer.

"No. You're no use to me dead," she teased.

He took another swig of beer, then set the glass down on the table. "I know you said you were okay when I found you in Lupus Run, but I have to ask—". His hand stopped caressing and gripped her knee. "What happened with Bacchus?"

It was a reasonable question. Bacchus had seemed like a huge pervert when she first met him. Lucy tried to set Laxus's mind at ease. "Nothing, he took me to a Karaoke Bar and then we got into the fight with shape-shifting wizards." She gave him a small smile.

"Okay," he said after watching her face for several moments.

Lucy tried some of her beer. It wasn't half bad. "He mentioned that you once completed a mission that he had attempted and failed."

He shrugged. "I don't really remember. Why did he mention it?"

"I don't know. I get the feeling he's jealous of you," she said.

Laxus's hand moved higher on her thigh. He didn't have a lot more travel room left. "He should be. I'm dating the prettiest and smartest girl in all of Magnolia."

Lucy blushed and the server brought their food. When the waitress was gone, Laxus leaned into her. "I can't wait until we're alone," he whispered.

Lucy felt her temperature rising and took a bite of her salad.

"I've been imagining what I am going to do to you," he continued. His hand disappeared beneath her skirt completely.

Lucy's fork stopped halfway to her mouth and her eyes widened. Laxus's fingers were making small circles over her underwear. Her breath hitched.

"God, you are so sexy," he said. "Let's get out of here." He looked around for the waitress. "Eat quickly," he warned.

Lucy began shoveling forkfuls of salad into her mouth. She managed to finish a third of it by the time the waitress came back. Laxus asked how much the bill was and threw several jewel notes on the table, overpaying as usual.

He didn't wait for change and pulled Lucy out of the booth. "There's an inn close by," he said. He opened the door for her and lightly smacked her on the rear, urging her to move faster.

They entered the inn and approached the man working the front desk. Laxus talked fast and kept running his hand through his hair. The clerk seemed relieved by the time the transaction was finally complete.

Lucy almost had to jog to keep up with Laxus, he was moving so fast. Once they got to the room, the dragon slayer gave up all pretense of restraint. "Come here," he said, pressing Lucy against the door. His fingers weaved into her hair and he began kissing her deeply.

She pulled back a moment later. "Let's get inside at least," she said, gasping for breath. Lucy took the key from him and managed to open the door.

Laxus picked her up and carried her into the room, shutting the door with his foot. He pressed her against the closest wall and began kissing her again. Lucy's body was buzzing with excitement. There was something desperate about how Laxus was acting and it was thrilling. He unzipped her skirt and it fell to the floor.

His hand trailed down the side of her face, across her neck, and stopped on her breast. "Your skin is so soft." His voice held a hint of wonder. He gently squeezed the large mound, bringing a soft gasp from her. "And your face—" his thumb grazed her lower lip. "Your face becomes even more beautiful when you are in ecstasy."

Lucy wanted to compliment him but everything that came to mind sounded corny. She was too new to romance to know how to talk dirty. She searched her feelings. "I'm a lucky girl." It was true but it was also the understatement of the century.

Laxus chuckled. "Oh, I don't know about that. I promised the Mayor that I would punish you."

That sounded fun, but right now, Laxus was way overdressed. Lucy began unbuttoning his shirt. It felt like it was taking too long and she had to resist the urge to rip it open. When she finished, she pulled the shirt off and eyed the wall of sinewy flesh. He was perfect. She ran her tongue across the Fairy Tail stamp on his pectoral muscle. Laxus shuddered.

"I don't think you have it in you—to punish me," she challenged. She let her teeth graze his nipple, soliciting a small moan from him.

He looked at her through half-lidded eyes. "Is it that obvious?" He pried her thighs apart with his knee. "I'm hopeless when it comes to you." His hands ran along her waist and buttocks. "All I do is think about you. When you were with Bacchus, I felt so—weak." He moved his knee back and forth, rubbing against her most intimate place.

"I'm sorry," she gasped. Her knees felt wobbly. If Laxus hadn't been practically holding her up, she might have fallen.

"We've already established that I am the one who should be sorry." He moved back and pulled her shirt over her head.

Lucy hated hearing him apologize. It made her feel guilty for being so angry at him. She trailed her fingers along his waistband, teasing him.

"If you'd like to go exploring, don't let me stop you," he said. He moved his hips forward, encouraging her.

Lucy unfastened the top button of his pants. She could already see the outline of his cock straining against the fabric. Even though she had been intimately familiar with him, it was still intimidating.

Her hand dipped into his pants and pulled his erect member free. Laxus was still watching her, mesmerized. With all they had been through, she wanted nothing more than to make him happy. Even better, she wanted to surprise him. Before she lost her nerve, she dropped to her knees.

"Lucy!" he exclaimed.

She took his penis in one hand and began stroking him. Tentatively, she licked the tip, finding the skin soft and warm. He tasted salty.

Laxus sucked in air and pressed his forearms against the wall. "Oh shit, I'm going to hell for this."

Lucy couldn't understand his reluctance and looked up at him. "Why?"

Laxus's eyes widened. "You would know if you could see yourself right now." He ran a hand through her bangs. "You look wholesome. Your eyes—" his voice trailed off as she gave another lick.

"Oh God. I can't believe this," he said.

His shock gave Lucy new courage. She opened her mouth as wide as she could and took him into her. She only managed to get a little past the head of his member before she felt like she was going to gag. This was harder than she had imagined. From the corner of her vision, Lucy saw Laxus's hand open and close as if he was straining against something.

She pulled back and looked back up at him. "I don't really know what I'm doing," she confessed.

Laxus smiled back at her. "Good. The thought of you doing this with another man makes my blood boil."

She laughed. "Only you can corrupt me, right?"

Laxus's smile faltered for an instant but, he recovered quickly. "Damn straight."

She opened her mouth again and wrapped her lips around him.

"Don't try to go take too much yet. Just roll your tongue around the tip," he said. Lucy did as she was told and Laxus immediately moaned. He put his hand on the back of her head. "Relax your jaw."

Lucy let some of the tension out of her jaw that she hadn't known was there. Laxus moved his hips forward, forcing her to take more of him. She gagged and he eased back.

"I'm sorry, that probably feels gross when I gag," she said.

He ran his hand along her chin. "No, I just don't want to hurt you." He took a deep breath and pulled her up by her arm.

"But I was just getting started," Lucy argued.

"I know, but this is too much for me," he said.

"What?" Lucy was dumbfounded.

Laxus looked embarrassed. "When you are down on your knees like that— I want to get rough with you."

She gave him a questioning look.

"Don't worry about it." Laxus took her hand and fell onto the bed, pulling her on top of him. "Maybe you can get rough with me instead."

She kissed him again, moving from his lips, to his neck, and eventually his chest. She wanted to touch every inch of him. She sat up to get a better view of him.

"You're so strong," she murmured. His arms and chest took up half the bed.

"I have to be if I'm ever going to take over as Master of Fairy Tail." He lifted his hips so he could completely disrobe.

Lucy reached around and unhooked her bra, tossing it to the side of the bed.

Laxus sighed. "I love these." He reached up and fondled her breasts, making heat rush to her groin. She'd had enough foreplay.

Lucy rolled off him, pulled her underwear off, and climbed back on. Laxus had an evil grin. "I'm looking forward to you being on top. I want to watch you fuck me." He put his hands behind his head, waiting.

That could be arranged. With one hand, she guided him towards her entrance and began to edge back. Slowly, he began to fill her. When she reached her limit she let out a sigh of pleasure. Laxus's eyes fluttered shut and he licked his lips.

"Hey, I thought you wanted to watch," she said.

His eyes popped opened and gleamed. "I don't know how long I can just _watch_." His voice had deepened with lust.

Lucy began to move back and forth. Laxus's intense gaze made her feel self-conscience so she closed her eyes. _She _hadn't asked to watch anything.

Within moments she felt a pressure beginning to build. Hands gripped her thighs and she looked down. Laxus was groaning and pumping his hips. He was staring, watching as he moved in and out of her.

_Filthy_, she thought, amused. _He does like to watch._

"Like what you see?" she said in her most seductive voice.

Laxus looked up and she lifted her arms, striking a pose while continuing to move on top of him.

"Yes," he said hoarsely.

She brought her hands down and lightly raked her fingernails across his chest. "Do you like fucking me?" she asked.

"Yes," he groaned.

"What do you think about your sweet, innocent girlfriend now?" she teased.

He huffed with exertion. "I think I love her."

Lucy paused, shocked. He had probably just spoken in the heat of the moment.

Laxus grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer. "Hey, I mean it." He smiled. "I didn't just say it because you're fucking my brains out."

She covered her mouth to hide her smile. "I love you too," she whispered.

He growled and rolled over, flipping her onto her back. "Let me show you just how much I love you." He pressed into her, filling her more deeply than she had ever thought possible.

She groaned, "Oh God, yes." She was close now.

He rolled his hips, hitting a spot in her that sent waves of pleasure throughout her body. Lucy's eyes rolled back. The pressure was building fast. Laxus's mouth covered hers. His tongue slid against hers, moist and hungry.

It was the kiss that sent her over the edge.

Lucy came, crying out as she climaxed. Laxus stopped holding back and came moments later, panting.

They lay against each other, chest to chest, as their heart rates found a steady rhythm.

Eventually, Laxus rolled off Lucy and onto his back. His hand found hers and held it. "You are so good, it's almost bad," he said.

"That's corny," she said with a giggle.

"It's true." He reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a handful of tissue, cleaning up the remnants of their love-making. "They always say make-up sex is the best sex," he continued.

"Well, I'm not going to argue with that," she said. He handed her a couple tissues and she dabbed at herself as discreetly as possible.

"But, I don't think it's as good as falling-in-love sex," he concluded.

Lucy stared at him. Laxus had always seemed reserved. She hadn't expected him to be so forthcoming with _the three little words_. "No, probably not," she agreed.

Laxus rolled over and wrapped an arm around her. "So, seeing as we are all in love and stuff—"

Lucy's heart skipped a beat.

"—I think you ought to move into my apartment."

"What?" Was he serious?

"It makes sense if you think about it." He held up his fingers and began counting. "We will get to see more of each other. You will save money on rent. I can keep an eye on you. We will get to fuck like rabbits—"

Lucy poked him in the ribs at his last comment. "Or maybe I'll go into _nesting mode_ and I won't bother to fix my hair or watch my diet." She put her hands behind her head and tried to keep a straight face. "I've been waiting for the day that I can finally let myself go."

"That's fine, as long as _nesting mode_ means _completely naked_."

"Ha ha," she said sarcastically.

Laxus squeezed her tighter. "All joking aside, I'm serious. Will you at least consider it? Will you move in with me?"

**Luffy fan: Thank you to leoslady4ever for beta'ing this. It's still not to late to sign up for the fairy tail writing challenge in the forums! On another note, I am happy/sad to say that this story will be reaching it's conclusion soon. Thank you all so much for the reviews and support. This story started out as a simple fluff piece and as ended as my most popular story (in terms of reviews and followers). I hope you all have enjoyed it and thank you for reading.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Epilog**

Lucy and Natsu were standing outside her apartment.

"Are you sure you don't want to come in?" she asked. "We have milk and cookies."

Natsu shook his head. "Nah, I need to head back home. Happy's probably waiting for me." He waved goodbye. "Good job today. I'll see you tomorrow."

Lucy waved back and opened the door. The radio was on and music was playing in the background. Laxus was in the kitchen, searching through the fridge.

"Oh, hey Lucy. Do you know where the mayonnaise is?" he asked.

"Try the side door."

His head ducked behind the refrigerator door and he reappeared a moment later with the jar in hand. "Thanks. I didn't know when you'd be home so I'm making myself a turkey sandwich, do you want one?"

She shook her head. "No thanks. Natsu and I stopped by a bakery for croissants on the way home." She watched him move around the kitchen. "Hey Laxus, have you spoken to Natsu recently?"

"Nope, why do you ask?" He finished making his sandwich and took a bite.

"I dunno. I just get the feeling that you guys aren't as close as you used to be. I've been living here for a month now and I can count the number of times Natsu has visited on a single hand."

Laxus sat in a barstool at the kitchen counter and motioned for her to join him. "We weren't that close to begin with. Don't worry about it. You see the guy everyday anyways. He doesn't need to visit you at home." His tone had an edge to it. Laxus had wanted her to join his team after she had moved in with him but Lucy had declined. Her excuse was that the Thunder God Tribe went on more dangerous missions and she would feel like she was holding the team back.

Lucy hadn't shared her second reason for not joining. She was worried that she may lose her old friends, especially Natsu, if she spent all of her time with Laxus.

"I guess your right," she said.

Laxus took another bite of his sandwich and frowned. "If it's really bothering you, I can talk to the guy, but he's going to get punched in the face if I wake up and he's next to me in bed."

Lucy giggled. "I don't think you have to worry about that. Besides, you hog the whole bed. There's barely room for me, much less Natsu."

He swallowed and smiled. "I'm not hogging the bed. I'm just trying to get as close to you as possible." He finished the last bite of his sandwich and took his plate to the sink.

One of Lucy's favorite songs came on the radio and she turned up the volume.

_We got the afternoon_

_You got this room for two_

_One thing I've left to do_

_Discover me_

_Discovering you_

"Will you dance with me?" she asked shyly.

"Sure, if its while we're both horizontal and naked." He turned around. "Hey, don't make that face. I was just kidding." He wrapped his arms around her and began swaying back and forth to the music.

'_Cause if you want love_

_We'll make it_

_Swimming a deep sea_

_Of blankets_

_Take all your big plans_

_And break 'em_

_This is bound to be a while_

He was such a good dancer. Lucy rested her cheek against his chest. It still amazed her how happy he made her.

"This reminds me of our first date," he said.

"The dance wasn't our first date. It was just the first time you kissed me," she said.

He titled her chin up and pressed his lips to hers. When they broke apart, he twirled her around the living room.

"Mm, that's right. That's all it took. One kiss and I was addicted."

_Damn baby_

_You frustrate me_

_I know you're mine all mine all mine_

_But you look so good it hurts sometimes_

He pulled her into another longer kiss. This time, she was breathless when they broke apart.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too."

The song ended, but they continued to sway.

"The songs over," she said.

"It doesn't have to be over," he said. "I have the feeling this is just beginning."

**The end**

**Luffy fan: Yeah! Thank you all so much for reading my story. I had a lot of fun writing it. I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Here are a few final thoughts.**

**It is surprising how many Bixslow fans there are. I'm also a fan and would like to write a Bixslow fic if I ever get the chance. Unfortunately I have two other projects (and a few other unfinished stories) which I will probably get to first but we'll see.**

**I hope I made a few Bacchus fans! This was my goal when I introduced him into the story. I wanted to try to take a villain and make him somewhat likeable.**

**I loved all the reviews I got. I even liked the ones that were complaints about why a character was acting a certain way because it showed that readers were vested in the story.**

**The final song Lucy and Laxus are dancing to is by John Mayer and it's called "You Body is a Wonderland".**

**Thanks again to randigirl and leoslady4ever for beta-ing this story. Beta's are awesome and can really help improve a story. **

**One last THANK YOU to all the readers. YOU ROCK! **


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